Columbia  (Mnitoer^ttp 
intljeCttpofSfttigork 


LIBRARY 


,^) 


OF  IIIE 

RISE,  PItOGllESS,  AFD  CO]?R^pVlfe|^ 

OF 

CHEISTIANITY. 


THE  MOST  REV.  RICHARD  WHATELY, 

ArwCHBISIIOP  OF  DUBLIN. 
WITH  A  SKETCH  OF  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  AUTHOR, 

AND   A 

CATALOGUE  OF  HIS  WRITINGS. 


NEW    YORK: 

WILLIAM     G  0  W  A  N  S 

^ . 

1860. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  In  tlie  year  1S60,  by 

WILLIAM  GOWANS, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  t}ie  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Southern 
District  of  New  York. 


R.    CRAIOUEAD, 

Primer,  Siereoiyper,  and  Elecirolyper 

Caiton  l^uillJing, 

81,  83,  atid  85  Centre  Stieet. 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


The  following  pages,  by  Archbishop  Whately,  make  one 
of  the  six  celebrated  Introductory  Essays  which  precede 
and  form  a  pendent  to  the  new  edition  of  the  Encyclopcedia 
Britannica,  now  in  course  of  publication,  the  other  five 
having  been  produced  by  Professor  Dugald  Stewart,  Sir 
James  Mackintosh,  with  additions  by  William  Whewell, 
D.D.,  Professors  John  Playfair,  Sir  John  Leslie,  and  James 
Duncan  Forbes. 

The  reputation  and  popularity  of  all  these  Authors  are  as 
universal  in  the  Western  as  on  the  Eastern  Continent,  as 
that  of  Baron  Macaulay,  Lord  Brougliam,  Dr.  Chalmers, 
or  Sydney  Smith.  Hence  it  requires  nothing  to  be  said  in 
commendation  of  anything  that  any  of  these  authors  may 
have  written,  in  presenting  them  to  the  public. 

This  Treatise  has  never  before  appeared  in  book  form, 
either  in  Europe  or  America.  In  consequence,  it  was 
deemed  advisable  to  present  it  in  this  shape,  thereby 
rendering  it  accessible  to  all  who  had  a  desire  to  consult 
the  subject  treated  of;  namely — "The  Rise,  Progress,  and 
Corruptions  of  Christianity,"  a  subject  full  of  interest  to 
every  intelligent  mind. 

I  have  collected  the  titles  of  all  the  Treatises  of  this 
gifted  and  voluminous  author,  and  presented  them  in  chro- 
nological order,  with  a  scanty  biographical  sketch. 


21690 


IV  BIOGKAPHICAL    SKETCH. 

I  have  the  pleasure  to  announce  that  I  have  the  appro- 
bation, as  well  as  the  sanction,  of  the  author,  through  his 
bookseller,  to  print  and  publish  any  or  all  of  his  books  in 
America,  providing  that  is  done  in  an  unmutilated  or  unin- 
terpolated  form,  which,  I  understand,  has  not  been  the  case 
with  certain  of  his  works  which  have  been  reprinted  in 
this  country. 

With  respect  to  the  present  Treatise,  the  reader  may 
rest  assured  that  it  is  a  faithful  reprint  of  the  original. 

PUBLISHER. 

New  York,  Feb.  16^/i,  1860. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

Richard  Whately,  D.D.,  Archbishop  of  Dublin,  an  emi- 
nent theologian  and  writer  on  political  economy,  was  born 
in  1789,  and  is  the  son  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Whately,  of  Nonsuch 
Park,  Surrey.  He  was  educated  at  Oxford,  in  Oriel  College, 
of  which,  in  1819,  he  was  elected  a  Fellow.  The  college  of 
Oriel  is  famous  for  having  sent  out  some  of  the  greatest 
thinkers  of  which  churchmen  of  the  present  generation  may 
boast,  such  as  Arnold,  Coplestone,  Newman  (until  his  apos- 
tasy), and  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  He  was  appointed  to 
read  the  Bampton  Lectures  in  1822,  in  which  year  he 
received  the  rectory  of  Halesworth,  in  value  £450  per 
annum.  In  the  contest  which  took  place  in  the  University 
when  Sir  R.  Peel  appealed  to  his  learned  constituents  upon 
the  Catholic  question,  Whately  voted  for  the  right  honor- 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH. 

able  baronet.  In  the  year  1830,  he  was  appointed  Presi- 
dent of  St.  Alban*s  Hall,  and  Professor  of  Political  Economy ; 
and  in  1831,  he  was  consecrated  Archbishop  of  Dublin,  and 
Bishop  of  Glendalagh.  The  diocese  of  Kildare  has  since 
been  added  to  his  cliarge.  His  lordship  has  published  a 
considerable  number  of  theological  writings,  consisting  of 
sermons,  charges,  miscellaneous  essays,  and  dissertations,  all 
marked  by  a  desire  to  place  religion  upon  a  simple  scriptural 
basis,  and  in  harmony  with  man's  intellectual  nature.  His 
style  is  remarkably  luminous,  and  his  reasoning  most  severe. 
In  the  administration  of  his  office,  he  has  displayed  a  uni- 
form liberality,  and  has  been  a  constant  promoter  of  the 
national  system  of  education  in  Ireland.  He  is  the  author 
of  a  treatise  on  political  economy,  and  the  best  manual  of 
logic  extant.  In  ridicule  of  Strauss  and  German  rationalism, 
he  wrote  a  curious  treatise  to  disprove  the  existence  of  Na- 
poleon. 

He  has  been  a  contributor  to  several  Encyclopedias,  and 
lately  to  that  of  the  new  edition  of  the  Encyclopedia  Bri- 
tannica,  now  in  course  of  publication. 

In  1844  he  had  a  controversy  with  the  contributors  to 
and  the  editors  of  the  New  York  Churchman,  the  organ  of 
the  high  church  party  in  the  western  world,  respecting  the 
ordination  of  a  young  man  to  the^  ministry  named  Carey, 
who  was  alleged  to  hold  views  more  in  keeping  with  the 
church  of  Rome  than  that  of  the  church  he  professed  to  be 
a  member  of.  Since  that  time  he  has  produced  several  new 
books  and  annotated  others,  a  list  of  which  here  follows. 


A  CATALOGUE 


OF  THE   WKlTlNGS   OF 


RICHARD  WHATELY,  D.  D., 


AKCHBISHOP  OF  DUBLIN. 


liigJit  Method  of  Interpreting  Scripture, 

The  Right  Method  of  Interpreting  Scripture,  in  what  relates  to  the 
Nature  of  the  Deity,  and  his  Deahngs  with  Mankind,  Ilhistrated 
in  a  Discourse  on  Predestination,  by  Dr.  King,  late  Lord  Arch- 
bishop of  Dublin.  Preached  at  Christ  Church,  Dublin,  before  the 
House  of  Lords,  May  15,  1709,  with  Notes  by  the  Rev.  Richard 
Whately,  M.A     8vo.,  pp.  140.  London,  1821. 

Elements  of  Rhetoric. 

Elements  of  Rhetoric,  comprising  the  substance  of  the  article  in 
the  Encychpo^dia  Metropolitana ;  with  additions,  &c.  3d  Edition. 
8vo.,  pp.  463.  Oxford,  1830. 

An  Essay  on  Omissions  of  Creeds^  &c. 

An  Essay  on  the  Omission  of  Creeds,  Liturgies,  and  Codes  of 
Ecclesiastical  Canons,  in  the  New  Testament.     8vo.,  pp.  56. 

London,  1831. 

Lecture  on  Political  Economy, 

Introductory  Lectures  on  Political  Economy ;  delivered  in  Easter 
Term— 1831.  2d  Edition,  including  Lecture  IX.  and  other  addi- 
tions.    8vo.,  pp.  295.  Loudon,  1832. 


WRITINGS   OF   RICHARD   WHATELY,    D.D.  Vll 

Thouglits  on  Secondary  Punisliments. 

Thoughts  on  Secondary  Punishments,  in  a  Letter  to  Earl  Grey; 
to  which  are  appended  two  Articles  on  Transportation  to  New 
South  Wales,  and  on  Secondary  Punishments,  and  some  observa- 
tions on  Colonization.     8vo..  pp.  204.  London,  1832. 

Evidence  before  tJie  House  of  Lords. 

The  Evidence  as  taken  before  the  Select  Committee  of  the  House 
of  Lords,  appointed  to  inquire  into  the  collection  and  payment  of 
Tithes  in  Ireland,  and  the  state  of  the  laws  relating  thereto,  in 
the  year  1832.     8vo.,  pp.  55.  London,  1832, 

Replies  to  the  Clergy. 

Replies  (Three)  to  the  Dean  and  Cliapter,  and  to  the  Clergy  of 
the  Diocese  of  Dublin,  relative  to  the  system  of  National  Educa- 
tion in  Ireland.     8vo.,  pp.  71.  London,  1832. 

Address  to  the  Clergy, 

Address  to  the  Clergy  of  Dublin  on  Confirmation,  in  August, 
1832.     Svo.,  pp.  38.  London,  1832. 

Observations  on  a  Petition. 

Observations  made  on  presenting  a  Petition  to  the  House  of  Lords 
from  the  Clergy  of  the  Diocese  of  Kildare,  relative  to  Church 
Reform,  August  7,  1833.     8vo.  pp.  20  London,  1833. 

Essays  on  St.  Paul. 

Essays  on  some  of  the  difficulties  in  the  Writings  of  St.  Paul,  and 
iu  other  parts  of  the  New  Testament.     Svo.,  pp.  408. 

London,  1833. 

Speech  in  the  House  of  Lords. 

A  Speech  in  the  House  of  Lords,  August  1,  1833,  on  a  Bill  for  the 
removal  of  certain  disabilities  from  His  Majesty's  subjects  of  the 
Jewish  Persuasion,  with  additional  remarks  on  some  of  the  ob- 
jections urged  against  that  measure.    Svo,  pp.  81.     London,  1833. 


Vlll  A   CATALOGUE   OF   THE 

Remarhs  on  Traiifiportation. 

Remarks  on  Transportation,  and  on  a  Recent  Defence  of  the 
System  ;  in  a  second  Letter  to  Earl  Grey.     8vo.,  pp.  174. 

London,  1834. 

Address  to  the  Clergy. 

Address  to  the  Clergy  of  Dublin  on  Confirmation  in  1834.  8vo., 
pp.  26.  London,  1834. 

A  Charge  to  the  Clergy, 

A  Charge  delivered  to  the  Clergy  of  Dublin  in  June,  1834,  with 
Notes.     8vo.,  pp.  31.  London,  1834. 

A  Charge  to  the  Clergy. 

A  Charge  delivered  to  the  Clergy  of  Dubhn  in  July,  1835.  8vo., 
pp.  30.  London,  1835. 

Sermons. 

Sermons  on  Various  Subjects;  delivered  in  several  churches  iu 
the  city  of  Dublin,  and  in  other  parts  of  the  Diocese.  8vo., 
pp.  438.  London,  1835. 

An  Appeal. 

An  Appeal  on  behalf  of  the  Association  incorporated  for  dis- 
countenancing Vice,  &c.,  with  a  Sermon  in  behalf  of  the  Associa- 
tion.    8vo.,  pp.  30.  London,  1835. 

Elements  of  Logic. 

Elements  of  Logic,  comprising  the  substance  of  the  article  in  the 
Encyclapcedia  Meiropolitana,  with  additions,  &c.  Sixth  Edition, 
revised.     8vo.,  pp.  478.  London,  1836. 

Two  Discourses. 

Two  Discourses,  preached  in  St.  John's  Church,  Dublin,  in  Vindi- 
cation of  tlie  right  of  the  Beneficed  Clergy  of  the  Church  of 
Ireland  over  their  own  Pulpits;  the  first  delivered  on  occasion  of 
the  inhibition  issued  against  the  Rev.  L.  I.  Nolan,  late  a  Roman 
Catholic  priest,  but  now  a  clergyman  of  the  Established  Church, 


WRITINGS   OF   RICHARD   WHATELY,    D.D.  IX 


by  his  Grace  the  Archbishop  of  Dublin  ;  the  second — An  Inquiry 
into  the  Trutli  of  Transubstantiation,  b}'-  the  Rev.  Robert  Trail, 
A.M.,  with  an  Appendix,  containing  the  Correspondence  which 
arose  out  of  the  Inhibition,  and  which  has  excited  so  deep  an  in- 
terest in  the  public  mind,  with  the  Remonstrance  of  the  Clergy 
of  the  Diocese.     12mo.,  pp.  310.  London,  1837. 

Tlie  Kingdom  of  Christ 

The  Kingdom  of  Christ  Delineated,  in  Two  Essays  on  our  Lord's 
own  Account  of  his  Person,  and  of  the  Nature  of  his  Kingdom, 
and  of  the  Constitution,  Powers,  and  Ministry  of  a  Christian 
Church,  as  appointed  by  himself.     8vo.,  pp.  312.       London,  1843. 

A  Lecture  on  Instinct. 

On  Instinct.  A  Lecture  delivered  before  the  Dublin  Natural  His- 
tory Society,  11th  November,  1842.     18mo.,  pp.  32. 

Dublin,  1847. 

English  Synonyms. 

A  Selection  of  EngUsh  Synonyms.     12mo,,  pp.  179. 

London,  1851. 

Historic  Certainties  o'especting  America. 

Historic  Certainties  respecting  the  Early  History  of  America 
developed  in  a  Critical  Examination  of  the  Book  of  the  Chronicles 
of  the  Land  of  Ecnarf,  by  Rev.  Aristarchus  Newlight.  8vo., 
pp.  62.  London,  1851. 

Cautions  for  the  Times. 

Cautions  for  the  Times.  Addressed  to  the  Parishioners  of  a 
Parish  in  England  by  their  former  Rector.  In  Three  Parts.  8vo., 
pp.  about  390.  London,  1852. 

Historic  Douhts  relating  to  Napoleon. 

Historic  Doubts  relative  to  Napoleon  Buonaparte.     8vo.,  pp.  70. 

London,  1852. 


A   CATALOGUE   OF   THE 

Claims  of  Truth  and  Unity. 

The  Claims  of  the  Truth  and  of  Unity  considered  in  a  Charge  to 
the  Clergy  of  Dublin.     8vo.  London,  1852. 

Easy  Lessons  on  Reasoning. 

Eas}'  Lessons  on  Reasoning.     12mo.,  pp.  180.  London,  1856. 

Thouglits  and  Apothegms. 

Thoughts  and  Apothegms  from  the  "Writings  of  Archbishop 
Whately.     12mo.,  pp.  442.  London,  1855. 

Address  at  Manchester. 

Address  delivered  to  the  Members  of  the  Manchester  Athenaeum, 
at  the  Public  Breakfast,  October  21,  1846.  12mo.,  pp.  31.  See 
Literary  Addresses  delivered  before  the  various  Popular  Institu- 
tions.    12mo.  London  and  Glasgow,  Griffin,  1855. 

Future  State. 

A  View  of  the  Scripture  Revelations  concerning  A  Future  State. 
12mo.,  pp.  308.  London,  1855. 

Angels  Good  and  Evil. 

A  View  of  the  Scripture  Revelations  respecting  Good  and  Evil 
Angels.     12mo.,  pp.  171.  London,  1855. 

Mental  Culture. 

Mental  Culture  required  for  Christian  Ministers.  A  Sermon  de- 
livered in  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral,  Dublin,  on  occasion  of  the 
Consecration  of  William  Fitzgerald,  D.D.,  Bishop  of  Cork,  March 
8th,  1857.     Bvo.,  pp.  31.  London,  1857. 

Lord  BacoiibS  Essays. 

Bacon's  Essays:  with  Annotations  by  Richard  Whately,  D.D., 
Archbishop  of  Dublin.     8vo,  pp.  536.  London,  1857. 


,   D.D.  XI 

Paleifs  Evidences  of  Chrisfianity. 

A  View  of  the  Evidences  of  Christianity,  In  Three  Parts.  By 
WiUiam  Paley,  M.A ,  Archdeacon  of  Carlisle.  With  Annotations 
by  Richard  Whately,  D.D.,  Archbishop  of  Dublin.     8vo.,  pp.  407. 

London,  18.59. 

Lessons  on  Mind. 

Introductory  Lessons  on  Mind.     12mo.,  pp.  240.       London,  1859. 

Remarks  on  an  Address  to  the  King, 

Remarks  on  an  Address  to  the  King,  proposed  for  the  Signatures 
of  the  Archbishops,  the  Bishops,  and  Clergy.     8vo.,  pp.  11. 

London,  N.  D. 

Address  to  Dublin  Inlmhitants. 

Address  to  the  Inhabitants  of  Dublin  and  its  Vicinity  respecting 
the  Lord's  Day,     Svo.  pp.  20.  London,  n.  d. 

History  of  the  Corruptions  of  Christianity. 

A  Dissertation  exhibiting  a  General  View  of  the  Rise,  Progress, 
and  Corruptions  of  Christianity.    4to.     London,  1853  ;  and  12  mo.. 

New  York,  18  GO. 

Paley's  Worhs. 

Paley's  Works ;  a  Lecture  on.     Svo.  London,  1860. 

Paley. 

Paley's  Moral  and  Political  Philosophy  ;  with  Annotations  by 
Richard  Whately,  D.D.,  Archbishop  of  Dublin.     8vo. 

London,  1859. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Advertisement, iii 

Biographical  Sketch, iv 

Catalogue  of  Archbishop  Whately's  Writings, vi 

Introduction, 13 

The  Pagan  Keligions, 34 

The  Mosaic  Dispensation, 63 

Introduction  of  the  Gospel, 102 

Establishment  op  Christ's  Kingdom, 131 

Corruptions  of  Christianity, 113 

Reformations  in  Religion, 228 

Church  Allegiance  and  Separations, 264 


GENERAX,   VIEW 


RISE,  PROGRESS,  AND  CORRUPTIONS 


OF    CHRISTIANITYJ  , . COl. L . 

IJBRAin 


.       \  YORK,    y* 


A  SKETCH,  like  the  present,  of  the  rise,  progress,  and 
corruptions  of  Christianity,  would  be  altogether  de- 
fective without  some  notice  of  those  religious  systems 
which  it  was  designed  to  supplant  or  to  complete. 

Not  only  will  much  light  be  thrown  upon  its  genu- 
ine character  and  excellence  by  a  contrast  with  their 
errors  or  deficiencies,  but  moreover,  a  knowledge  of 
these  will  often  disclose  to  us  the  sources  of  some  of 
those  corruptions  which  have  disfigured  the  simplicity 
of  the  Gospel. 

The  earliest  history  of  mankind,  by  far,  that  we 
possess,  is  that  contained  in  the  Book  of  Genesis.  It 
is  extremely  brief  and  scanty  ;  especially  the  earliest 
portion  of  it.  But  it  plainly  represents  the  first  of 
the   human   race,  when  in  the  Garden  of  Eden,  as 


14  INTRODUCTION. 

receiving  direct  communications  from  God.  We  have 
no  detailed  account,  however,  of  the  instruction  thej 
received ;  and  even  part  of  what  the  history  does  record 
is  but  obscurely  intimated.  For  example,  it  is  rather 
hinted  than  expressly  stated,  that  the  use  of  language 
was  imparted  to  them  by  revelation.  This,  however, 
is  generally  understood  to  be  the  meaning  of  the  pas- 
sage (Gen.  ii.  20),  in  which  it  is  said  that  God  brought 
unto  Adam  the  beasts  and  birds,  to  see  what  he  would 
call  them,  and  that  Adam  gave  them  names. 

But  our  first  parents,  or  their  children,  must  have 
received  direct  ffom  God  a  great  deal  of  instruction 
of  which  no  particulars  are  related.  For  besides 
being  taught  something  of  religious  and  moral  duty 
(Gen.  ii.  16;  iv.  7),  it  is  evident  that  they  must  have 
learned  something  of  the  arts  of  life.  The  first  gene- 
rations of  mankind  were  certainly  not  left  at  all  in 
the  condition  of  mere  savages^  subsisting  on  such  wild 
fruits  and  animals  as  they  might  chance  to  meet  with. 
We  read  concerning  the  first  two  sons  of  Adam,  that 
the  one  was  occupied  in  tilling  the  ground,  and  the 
other  in  keeping  cattle. 

And  even  independently  of  the  Bible  history,  we 
might  draw  the  same  conclusion  from  what  is  matter 
of  actual  experience,  and  as  it  were  before  our  eyes  at 
this  day.  For  it  appears  that  mere  savages,  if  left  to 
themselves  without  any  instruction,  never  did,  and 
never  can,  civilise  themselves.  And,  consequently, 
\\iQ  first  of  the  human  race  that  did  acquire  any  degree 
of  civilisation,  since  they  could  not  have  had  instruc- 
tion from  other  men^  must  have  had  a  superhuman 


INTRODUCTION.  15 


instructor.  But  for  such  an  instructor,  all  mankind 
would  have  been  savages  at  this  day..  The  mere  fact 
that  civilised  men  do  exist,  is  enough  to  prove,  even 
to  a  person  who  had  never  heard  of  the  Bible,  that,  at 
some  time  or  other,  men  must  have  been  taught  some- 
thing by  a  superior  Being :  in  other  words,  that  there 
must  have  been  a  revelation. 

It  has  been  indeed  not  unfrequently  maintained 
that  savages  can,  and  sometimes  do,  invent  for  them- 
selves, one  by  one,  all  the  useful  arts,  and  thus  raise 
themselves  to  a  civilised  state,  without  any  assistance 
from  men  already  civilised.  One  may  meet  with  fine 
descriptions — though  altogether  fanciful — of  this  sup- 
posed progress  of  men  towards  civilisation.  One  man, 
it  has  been  conceived,  wishing  to  save  himself  the 
trouble  of  roaming  through  the  woods  in  search  of 
wild  fruits  and  roots,  would  bethink  himself  of  collect- 
ing the  seeds  of  these,  and  cultivating  them  in  a  spot 
of  ground  cleared  and  broken  up  for  the  purpose. 
And  finding  that  he  could  thus  raise  more  than 
enough  for  himself,  he  might  agree  with  some  of  his 
neighbours  to  let  them  have  a  part  of  the  produce  in 
exchange  for  some  of  the  game  and  fish  they  might 
have  taken.  Another  again,  it  has  been  imagined, 
would  endeavour  to  save  himself  the  labour  and  uncer- 
tainty of  hunting,  by  catching  some  kind  of  wild  ani- 
mals alive,  and  keeping  them  in  an  inclosure  to  breed, 
that  he  might  have  a  supplj^  always  at  hand. 

And  again,  another,  it  is  supposed,  might  devote 
himself  to  the  occupation  of  dressing  skins  for  cloth- 
ing, or  of  building  huts  or  canoes,  or  making  various 


16  INTRODUCTION. 

kinds  of  tools ;  and  might  subsist  by  exchanging 
these  with  his  neighbours  for  food.  And  by  thus 
devoting  his  chief  attention  to  some  one  kind  of 
manufacture,  he  would  acquire  increased  skill  in  that, 
and  would  strike  out  useful  and  new  inventions. 

Thus  these  supposed  savages  having  gradually  come 
to  be  divided  into  husbandmen,  shepherds,  and  artisans 
of  various  kinds,  would  begin  to  enjoy  the  various 
advantages  of  a  division  of  labour^  and  would  advance, 
step  by  step,  in  all  the  arts  of  civilised  life. 

Now,  all  this  description  is  likely  to  appear  plausi- 
ble, at  the  first  glance,  to  those  who  do  not  inquire 
carefully,  and  reflect  attentively.  But,  on  examina- 
tion, it  will  be  found  to  be  contradicted  by  all  history, 
and  to  be  quite  inconsistent  with  the  real  character 
of  such  beings  as  savages  actually  are.  In  reality, 
such  a  process  of  inventions  and  improvements  as  that 
just  described,  is  what  never  did,  and  never  possibly 
can,  take  place  in  any  savage  tribe  left  wholly  to 
themselves. 

All  the  nations  of  which  we  know  anything,  that 
have  risen  from  a  savage  to  a  civilised  state,  appear 
to  have  had  the  advantage  of  the  instruction  and 
example  of  civilised  men  living  among  them.  Every 
nation  that  has  ever  had  any  tradition  of  a  time  when 
their  ancestors  were  savages,  and  of  the  first  introduc- 
tion of  civilisation  among  them,  always  represents 
some  foreigner  or  some  Being  from  heaven  as  having 
first  taught  them  the  arts  of  life. 

Thus  the  ancient  Greeks,  we  know,  attributed  to 
Prometheus  the  introduction  of  the  use  of  fire.     And 


INTRODUCTION.  17 


agriculture  and  other  arts  were  popularly  supposed  to 
have  been  first  introduced  into  Greece  by  Triptolemus 
and  Cadmus,  and  others,  strangers  from  a  distant 
countrj'. 

And  the  Peruvians  have  a  like  tradition  concerning 
a  person  they  call  Manco  Capac,  whom  they  repre- 
sent as  the  offspring  of  the  sun,  and  as  having  taught 
useful  arts  to  their  ancestors. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  are  a  great  number  of 
savage  tribes,  in  various  parts  of  the  world,  who  have 
had  no  regular  intercourse  with  civilised  men,  but 
who  have  been  visited  by  several  voyagers,  at  diffe- 
rent times,  and  in  some  instances  at  very  distant 
periods.  And  it  appears  from  comparing  together 
the  accounts  of  those  voyagers,  that  these  tribes 
remain  perfectly  stationary  ;  not  making  the  smallest 
advance  towards  civilisation. 

For  example,  the  people  of  the  vast  continent  of 
New  Holland,  and  of  the  large  island  of  Papua  (or 
New  Guinea),  who  are  among  the  rudest  of  savages, 
appear  to  remain  (in  those  parts  not  settled  by  Euro- 
peans), in  exactly  the  same  brutish  condition  as  when 
they  were  first  discovered.  They  roam  about  the 
forests  in  search  of  wild  animals,  and  of  some  few 
eatable  roots,  which  they  laboriously  dig  up  with 
sharpened  sticks.  But  though  they  are  often  half- 
starved,  and  though  they  have  to  expend  as  much 
toil  for  three  or  four  scanty  meals  as  would  suffice  for 
breaking  up  and  planting  a  piece  of  ground  that 
would  supply  them  for  a  year,  it  has  never  occurred 
to  them  to  attempt  cultivating  these  roots. 


18  INTRODUCTION. 

The  inliabitants,  again,  of  the  islands  of  Andaman, 
in  the  eastern  ocean,  appear  to  be  in  a  more  degraded 
and  wretched  state  than  even  the  New  Hollanders. 

And  to  add  but  one  instance  more,  the  New  Zea- 
landers,  in  the  interval  of  above  one  hundred  and 
twentj' -five  years  between  the  first  discovery  of  their 
islands  by  Tasman,  and  the  second  discovery  by  Cap- 
tain Cook,  seem  to  have  made  no  advances  whatever, 
but  to  have  remained  just  in  the  same  condition.  And 
yet  they  were  in  a  far  less  savage  state  than  that  of 
the  New  Hollanders,  being  accustomed  rudely  to 
cultivate  the  ground,  and  raise  crops  of  sweet  pota- 
toes. 

And  such  appears  to  be,  from  all  accounts,  the 
condition  of  all  savage,  or  nearly  savage  tribes. 
They  seem  never  to  invent  anything,  or  to  make  any 
effort  to  improve;  so  that  what  few  arts  they  do 
possess  (and  which,  in  general,  are  only  such  as  to 
enable  them  just  to  support  life),  must  be  the  remnant 
that  they  have  retained  from  a  more  civilised  state, 
from  which  their  ancestors  had  degenerated. 

When,  indeed,  men  have  arrived  at  a  certain  stage 
in  the  advance  towards  civilisation  (far  short  of  what 
exists  in  Europe),  it  is  then  possible  for  them,  if 
nothing  occurs  to  keep  them  back,  to  advance  further 
and  further  towards  a  more  civilised  state. 

And  this  it  is  that  misleads  some  persons  in  their 
notions  respecting  savages.  For  finding  that  there  is 
no  one  art  which  might  not  have  been  invented  by 
unassisted  man,  sujyposing  him  to  have  a  certain  degree 
of  civilisation  to  start  from^  they  hence  conclude  that 


INTRODUCTION.  19 

unassisted  man  might  have  invented  all  the  arts,  sup- 
posing him  left  originally  in  a  completely  savage  state. 
But  this  is  contradicted  by'  all  experience;  which 
shews  that  men,  in  the  condition  of  tlie  lowest  sa- 
vages, never  have  made  the  first  step  towards  civili- 
sation, without  some  assistance  from  without. 

Human  society  may  be  compared  to  some  com- 
bustible substances  which  will  not  take  fire  sponta- 
neously, but  when  once  set  on  fire  will  burn  with 
continually  increasing  force.  A  community  of  men 
requires,  as  it  were,  to  be  kindled,  and  requires  no 
more. 

What,  perhaps,  contributes  most  to  the  erroneous 
views  referred  to  above,  is,  that  when  one  tries  to 
fancy  himself  in  the  situation  of  a  savage,  it  occurs 
to  him  that  he  would  set  his  mind  to  work  to  contrive 
means  for  bettering  his  condition,  and  that  he  might 
perhaps  hit  upon  such  and  such  useful  inventions ; 
and  hence  he  may  be  led  to  think  it  natural  that 
savages  should  do  so,  and  that  some  tribes  of  them 
may  have  advanced  themselves,  in  the  way  above 
described,  without  any  external  help.  But  nothing 
of  the  kind  appears  to  have  ever  really  occurred ;  and 
what  leads  some  persons  to  fancy  it,  is,  that  they 
themselves  are  not  savages,  but  have  some  degree  of 
mental  cultivation,  and  some  of  the  habits  of  thought 
of  civilised  men  ;  and,  therefore,  they  form  to  them- 
selves an  incorrect  notion  of  what  a  savage  really  is 
— just  as  a  person  who  possesses  eyesight  cannot 
understand  correctly  the  condition  of  one  born  blind. 

But  those  who  have  seen  a  good  deal  of  real  sa- 


20  INTRODUCTION. 

vages,  have  observed  that  they  are  not  only  feeble  in 
mental  powers,  but  also  sluggish  in  the  use  of  such 
powers  as  they  have,  except  when  urged  by  pressing 
want.  When  not  thus  urged,  they  pass  their  time 
either  in  perfect  inactivity,  or  else  in  dancing,  or 
decorating  their  bodies  with  paint,  or  with  feathers 
and  shells,  or  in  various  childish  sports.  They  are 
not  only  brutishly  stupid,  but  still  more  remarkable 
for  childish  thoughtlessness  and  improvidence.  So 
that  it  never  occurs  to  them  to  consider  how  they  may 
put  themselves  in  a  better  condition  a  year  or  two 
hence. 

Now,  such  must  have  been  the  condition  of  all  man- 
kind down  to  this  day,  if  they  had  all  been,  from  the 
first,  left  without  any  instruction,  and  in  what  is  called 
a  state  of  nature — that  is,  with  the  faculties  man  is 
born  with,  not  at  all  unfolded  or  exercised  by  educa- 
tion. For  from  such  a  state,  unassisted  Man  cannot, 
as  all  experience  shews,  ever  raise  himself.  And  con- 
sequently, in  that  case,  the  whole  world  would  have 
been  peopled  with  mere  savages  in  the  very  lowest 
state  of  degradation.  The  very  existence,  therefore, 
at  this  day,  of  civilised  men,  proves  that  there  must 
have  been,  at  some  time  or  other,  some  instruction 
given  to  Man  in  the  arts  of  life,  by  some  Being 
superior  to  Man.  For,  since  the  first  beginnings  of 
civilisation  could  not  have  come  from  any  human 
instructor,  they  must  have  come  from  one  super- 
human. 

It  has  been  shewn,  then,  that  the  whole  world 
would  now  have  been  peopled  with  the  very  lo^^est 


INTRODUCTION.  21 


savages,  if  men  had  never  received  any  instruction, 
and  yet  had  been  able  to  subsist  at  all.  But  it  is 
doubtful  whether  even  this  bare  subsistence  would 
have  been  possible.  It  is  more  likely  that  the  first 
generation  would  all  have  perished  for  want  of  those 
lew  arts  which  even  savages  possess,  and  which  (as 
has  been  above  remarked)  were  probably  not  invented 
by  savages,  but  are  remnants  which  they  have  re- 
tained from  a  more  civilised  state.  The  knowledge, 
for  instance,  of  wholesome  and  of  poisonous  roots  and 
fruits,  the  arts  of  making  fish-hooks  and  nets,  bows 
and  arrows,  or  darts,  and  snares  for  wild  animals,  and 
of  constructing  rude  huts  and  canoes,  and  some  other 
such  simple  arts,  are  possessed,  more  or  less,  by  all 
savages,  and  are  necessary  to  enable  them  to  support 
their  lives.  And  it  is  doubtful  whether  men  left 
completely  in  a  state  of  nature — that  is  wholly  un- 
taught— would  not  all  perish  before  they  could  invent 
them  for  themselves. 

For  we  should  remember  that  Man,  when  lefi:  in  a 
state  of  nature,  untaught,  and  with  his  rational 
powers  not  unfolded,  is  far  less  fitted  for  supporting 
and  taking  care  of  himself  than  the  brutes.  Tliey  are 
much  better  provided  both  with  instincts^  and  with 
bodily  organs  for  supplying  their  own  wants.  For 
example,  those  animals  that  have  occasion  to  dig, 
either  for  food  or  to  make  burrows  for  shelter — such 
as  the  swine,  the  hedgehog,  the  mole,  and  the  rabbit, 
have  both  an  instinct  for  digging,  and  snouts  or  paws 
far  better  adapted  for  that  purpose  than  man's  hands. 
Yet  man  is  enabled  to  turn   up  the  ground  much 


22  INTRODUCTION. 

better  than  any  brute ;  but  then  this  is  by  means  of 
tools  which  man  can  be  taught  to  make  and  use, 
though  brutes  cannot.  Again,  birds  and  bees  have 
an  instinct  for  building  such  nests  and  habitations  as 
answer  their  purpose  as  well  as  the  most  commodious 
beds  and  houses  made  by  men;  but  Man  has  no 
instinct  that  teaches  him  how  to  construct  these. 
Brutes,  again,  know  by  instinct  their  proper  food,  and 
avoid  what  is  unwholesome ;  but  man  has  no  instinct 
for  distinguishing  the  nightshade-berry  (with  which 
children  have  been  so  often  poisoned)  from  whole- 
some fruits.  And  quadrupeds  swim  by  nature,  be- 
cause their  swimming  is  the  same  motion  by  which 
they  advance  when  on  land ;  but  a  man,  falling  into 
deep  water,  is  drowned,  unless  he  has  learnt  to  swim. 

It  appears,  then,  very  doubtful  whether  men  left 
wholly  untaught,  would  be  able  to  subsist  at  all,  even 
in  the  state  of  the  lowest  savages.  But,  at  any  rate, 
it  is  plain  they  could  never  have  risen  above  that  state. 
And,  consequent!}^,  the  existence  of  civilisation  at 
this  day  is  a  kind  of  monument  attesting  the  fact  that 
some  instruction  from  above  must,  at  some  time  or 
other,  have  been  supplied  to  mankind.  And  the 
most  probable  conclusion  is,  that  Man,  when  first 
created,  or  very  shortly  afterwards,  was  advanced  by 
the  Creator  Himself,  to  a  state  above  that  of  a  mere 
savage. 

Now  this  is  exactly  what  is  related  in  Scripture. 
But  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  proof  which  has 
been  just  given  of  an  original  revelntion  to  Man,  is 
quite  independent  of  the  Bible  history  ;  and,  there- 


INTRODUCTION.  23 

fore,  tends  to  confirm  that  history.  That  Man  could 
not  have  made  himself,  is  appealed  to,  as  a  proof  of  a 
divine  Creator.  And  that  mankind  could  not,  in  the 
first  instance,  have  civilised  themselves,  is  a  proof 
exactly  of  the  same  kind,  and  equally  strong,  of  a 
superhuman  Instructor. 

And  here  the  inquiry  may  perhaps  be  raised,  how 
it  ever  came  about  that  various  tribes  of  men,  from 
time  to  time,  degenerated  into  the  savage  state.  We 
have  no  distinct  records  of  the  progress  of  this  dege- 
neracy ;  nor,  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  is  it  possible 
that  we  should.  But,  no  doubt,  luars  have  always 
been  the  principal  cause  of  it.  When  men  were 
continually  harassed  by  a  superior  force  of  ferocious 
enemies,  who  hunted  them  down  like  wild  beasts,  and 
burnt  their  dwellings,  and  laid  waste  the  country 
they  would  be  driven  to  shelter  themselves  in  forests, 
and  deserts,  and  mountains ;  and  would  have  no  op 
portunity  of  practising,  or  of  teaching  to  their  children, 
most  of  the  arts  they  might  be  acquainted  with 
Agriculture,  for  instance,  would  necessarily  be  aban 
doned.  And  being  entirely  occupied  in  a  struggle 
for  bare  subsistence,  and  in  providing  for  defence 
against  their  enemies,  or  for  escape,  they  would  have 
neither  leisure,  nor  means,  nor  inclination,  for  keeping 
up  the  various  arts  of  civilised  life.  These,  therefore, 
would,  in  two  or  three  generations,  be  forgotten  and 
irrecoverably  lost  among  them ;  and  the  whole  cha- 
racter of  the  people  would  have  degenerated. 

We  have  .said,  that  from  the  wqyj  nature  of  the  case, 
it  is  impossible  we  should  have  any  distinct  accounts 


24  INTRODUCTION. 

of  the  progress  of  this  degradation,  since  men  so 
situated  would  not  compose  histories.  But  it  is  re- 
markable that  in  several  savage  tribes,  there  are  some 
faint  traditions  of  their  ancestors  having  formerly 
come  from  some  distant  and  better  country ;  doubt- 
less driven  out  by  war. 

It  is  likely  that  the  instruction  in  the  arts  of  life 
that  was  originally  bestowed  on  the  human  race  was 
merely  sufficient  to  give  them  a  heg inning ;  to  advance 
them  just  so  far  towards  civilisation  as  to  enable  them, 
thenceforward,  to  advance  themselves,  and  to  invent, 
one  by  one,  by  the  exercise  of  their  own  faculties, 
various  arts,  according  to  their  wants  and  oppor- 
tunities. 

The  Bible  history  informs  us  of  hardly  any  parti- 
culars, either  of  what  was  originally  taught  to  man- 
kind, or  of  their  own  inventions.  We  have  only  a 
very  brief  and  slight  hint  of  the  invention  of  the  art 
of  working  metals,  and  of  musical  instruments,  and 
perhaps,  also  of  tents.  (Gen.  iv.  20.)  But,  doubtless, 
many  other  arts  were  invented  before  the  Flood. 

Several  of  the  most  important  arts,  and  of  those 
most  generally  known  throughout  the  world,  must 
have  been  very  ancient ;  and  as  their  first  introduction 
is  not  mentioned  in  the  Bible,  there  is  no  record  or 
tradition  of  it.  And  we  are  so  familiar  with  these 
that  we  are  apt  to  regard  them  as  more  simple  and 
obvious  than  they  are ;  though,  on  reflection,  it  will 
appear  that  some  of  them  were  most  likely  invented 
gradually,  and  by  successive  steps  taken  at  long 
intervals. 


INTRODUCTION.  25 

And  here  it  is  worth  observing  how  important  an 
advantage,  in  reference  to  the  invention  of  arts,  would 
have  been  afforded  to  men  in  a  very  early  and  rude 
state  of  society,  by  their  possessing  (as  Scripture 
informs  us  the  earliest  of  them  did)  a  very  long  con- 
tinuance of  life.  Tn  the  present  day,  an  ingenious 
and  observant  man  writes  down,  and  generally  prints 
and  publishes  the  experiments  and  observations  he 
has  made  ;  and  thus  those  who  come  after  him  are 
enabled  to  follow  up  his  inquiries  and  attempts,  so 
that  each  generation  improves  upon  the  last.  But 
before  the  use  of  printing  and  writing,  the  chief  part 
of  each  man's  experience  would  be  lost  to  those  who 
came  after  him.  In  those  early  days,  therefore,  it 
was  of  vast  importance,  with  a  view  to  the  invention 
of  arts,  that  each  man  should  be  enabled,  by  great 
length  of  life,  to  apply  his  own  experience,  and  to 
follow  up  himself  the  discoveries  he  might  have 
made. 

We  have  no  direct  information  as  to  the  immediate 
cause  of  the  great  longevity  of  the  earliest  generations 
of  men.  But  it  seems  likely  that  it  may  have  been 
produced  by  the  influence  of  ''Hhe  Tree  of  Life.'''' ^ 

That  the  produce  of  this  tree  (whether  its  fruits  or 
its  leaves)  was  endued  by  the  Creator  with  some 
property  of  warding  off  death,  we  are  plainly  taught, 
both  by  its  name  and  by  the  exclusion  of  Adam  from 

*  It  appears  to  be  a  vestige  of  an  early  tradition  respecting  the  use 
of  the  Tree  of  Life,  that  Homer  represents  his  gods  as  supporting  per- 
petual life  and  vigour  by  drinking  nectar  and  eating  Ambrosia,  i.  e. 
(immortality  ) 

2 


26  INTKODUCTION. 

the  Garden  of  Eden,  "  lest  he  should  eat  of  the  tree 
of  life,  and  live  for  ever." 

It  is  likely  that  it  had  the  medicinal  virtue,  when 
applied  from  time  to  time,  of  preventing  or  curing  the 
decays  of  old  age ;  just  as  our  ordinary  food  preserves 
men  from  dying  of  exhaustion  by  famine ;  and  as 
several  well-known  medicines  prevent  or  cure  certain 
diseases.  We  know,  indeed,  that  there  does  not 
exist  now  any  medicine  that  has  the  virtue  of  keep- 
ing up  or  renewing  youthful  health  or  vigour.  But 
such  a  medicine  would  not  be  in  itself  at  all  more 
strange  than  many  things  which  we  are  familiar  wdth, 
but  whose  effects  we  cannot  explain,  and  could  never 
have  conjectured. 

For  example,  that  opium  and  some  other  drugs 
should  produce  sleep,  and  strong  liquors  a  kind  of 
temporary  madness,  is  what  no  one  would  ever  have 
thought  of,  if  he  had  never  heard  of  it,  nor  seen  the 
experiment  tried,  of  swallowing  those  substances. 
Nor,  even  if  he  were  a  skilful  chemist,  would  he  be 
able,  by  analysing  them,  to  conjecture  what  their 
effects  would  be.  If,  then,  the  Tree  of  Life  were  such 
a  medicine  as  we  have  supposed,  a  person  who  always 
continued  the  use  of  it  from  time  to  time,  would  con- 
tinue exempt  from  decay  and  death. 

But  supposing  some  persons  who  had  been  in  the 
habit  of  using  it  (as  our  first  parents  doubtless  had, 
since  there  was  nothing  to  prevent  them)  should 
afterwards  cease  to  use  it,  their  constitution  would 
probably  have  been  so  far  fortified,  that  though  they 
would  at  length  die,  yet  they  would  live  much  longer 


INTRODUCTION.  27 


than  man's  natural  term.  And  they  would  even  be 
likely  to  transmit  to  their  descendants  such  a  consti- 
tution as  would  confer  on  those  also  a  great  degree  of 
longevity,  which  would  only  wear  out  gradually  in 
many  successive  generations. 

Now,  it  is  remarkable  that  this  exactly  agrees  with 
what  we  do  find  recorded.  If  we  look  into  those 
parts  of  the  Bible  history  which  relate  to  this  subject, 
we  shall  find  Man's  life  in  the  earliest  generations 
extending  to  eight  or  nine  centuries,  and  upwards. 
And  we  shall  find  longevity  gradually  diminishing  in 
each  generation,  down  to  the  times  of  Abraham, 
Isaac,  and  Jacob,  who  lived  rather  less  than  two 
hundred  years ;  and  again  down  to  the  time  of 
Moses,  who  began  his  mission,  apparently  in  the  full 
vigour  of  life,  at  fourscore,  and  lived  to  one  hundred 
and  twenty.  Joshua,  who  succeeded  him,  lived  one 
hundred  and  ten  years.  And  from  thenceforward 
human  life  appears  to  have  been  brought  down  to 
about  its  present  limit. 

The  above  seems  to  be  the  most  clear,  easy,  and 
natural  interpretation  of  those  parts  of  Scripture  we 
have  been  examining.  There  is  not,  however,  any 
such  distinct  revelation  on  the  subject  as  to  authorise 
our  pronouncing  confidently  that  such  must  be  the 
right  interpretation,  and  making  this  an  article  of 
faith. 

With  respect  to  religious  instruction,  although,  as 
has  been  said,  the  Maker  and  Governor  of  all  things 
did  certainly  make   Himself  known  to  the  earliest 


28  INTRODUCTION. 


generations  of  mankind,  and  accepted  worship  from 
them ;  we  are  told  very  few  particulars  of  the  revela- 
tions that  were  made.  We  find,  indeed,  a  prophecy 
made  to  Adam  and  Eve,  just  before  their  expulsion 
from  Paradise :  that  the  seed  of  the  woman  should 
bruise  the  serpent's  head.  But  whether  any  explana- 
tion was  given  them,  of  the  reference  this  had  to  our 
Saviour's  triumph  over  Satan  and  Death,  we  are  not 
told.  And  it  is  even  a  matter  of  doubt  among  the 
learned,  whether  the  sacrifices  (Gen.  iv.  viii.)  that 
were  offered  up  in  the  earliest  times,  and  afterwards 
by  Noah,  were  of  express  divine  appointment,  or  were 
merely  a  mode  of  worship  which  men  devised  of 
themselves,  and  which  God  thought  fit  to  approve 
and  accept.  And  there  is  nothing  so  distinctly  said 
in  Scripture  on  the  subject,  as  to  authorise  any  one  to 
decide  confidently,  one  way  or  the  other.  If  it  had 
been  necessary  that  we  should  have  any  certainty  as 
to  this  point,  doubtless  we  should  have  had  some  plain 
declarations  upon  it. 

Of  Enoch  we  find  it  recorded,  that  he  **  walked 
with  God,"  that  is,  led  a  life  of  eminent  holiness,  and 
was  so  far  favoured,  as  to  be  withdrawn  from  the  earth 
without  tasting  of  death.  And  he  is  referred  to,  in 
the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  as  an  example  o^  faith^ 
inasmuch  as  "without  fliith  it  is  impossible  to  please 
God."  But  as  to  the  subjects  of  his  faith,  the  Apostle 
himself  seems  to  have  had  no  distinct  and  particular 
knowledge,  except  that  he  must  have  believed  in 
the  existence  and  in  the  goodness  of  God, — "  For 
he  that  cometh  to  God  must  believe  that  He  is;  and 


INTRODUCTIOX.  29 


that  He  is  a  rewarder  of  them  that  diligentl}'  seek 
Him." 

Of  course  what  is  meant  in  this  passage  by  the 
word  "God,"  is — what  we  also  understand  by  it — 
the  Creator  of  the  world.  We  cannot  doubt  that  He 
must  have  made  Himself  known  to  the  earliest  of 
mankind,  as  the  Maker  of  themselves,  and  of  all 
things  around  them.  And  the  account  given  in 
Genesis,  of  the  creation,  and  of  some  other  of  the 
earliest  events,  is  probably  a  tradition  of  this  most 
ancient  revelation,  and  was  very  likely  committed  to 
writing,  long  before  the  time  of  Moses. 

Some  persons  have  imagined  that  we  are  bound  to 
take  our  notions  of  Astronomy,  and  of  all  other 
Ph3'sical  Sciences,  from  the  Bible.  And  accordingly-, 
when  astronomers  discovered  and  proved  that  the 
earth  turns  round  on  its  axis,  and  that  the  sun  does 
not  move  round  the  earth,  some  cried  out  against  this 
as  profane,  because  Scripture  speaks  of  the  sun^s  rising 
and  setting.  And  this  probably  led  some  astronomers 
to  reject  the  Bible,  because  they  were  taught  that  if 
they  received  thai  as  a  divine  revelation,  they  must 
disbelieve  truths  which  they  had  demonstrated. 

So  also,  some  have  thought  themselves  bound  tj 
believe,  if  they  receive  Scripture  at  all,  that  the  earth, 
and  all  the  plants  and  animals  that  ever  existed  on  it, 
must  have  been  created  within  six  days,  of  exactly 
the  same  length  as  our  present  days.  And  this,  even 
before  the  sun,  by  which  we  measure  our  days,  is 
recorded  to  have  been  created.  Hence,  the  disco- 
veries made  by  geologists,  which  seem  to  prove  tha. 


30  INTRODUCTION. 


the  earth  and  various  races  of  animals  must  have  ex- 
isted a  very  long  time  before  Man  existed,  have  been 
represented  as  completely  inconsistent  with  any  belief 
in  Scripture. 

We  may  not  stop  to  discuss  the  various  objections 
(some  of  them  more  or  less  plausible,  and  others  very 
weak),  that  have  been  brought — on  grounds  of 
science,  or  supposed  science — against  the  Mosaic  ac- 
counts of  the  state  of  the  early  world,  and  of  the  flood, 
and  to  bring  forward  the  several  answers  that  have 
been  given  to  those  objections.  But  it  is  important 
to  lay  down  the  principle  on  which  either  the  Bible 
or  any  other  writing  or  speech  ought  to  be  studied 
and  understood,  viz.,  with  a  reference  to  the  object  j[)ro- 
posed  by  the  writer  or  speaker. 

For  example,  if  we  bid  any  one  proceed  in  a  straight 
line  from  one  place  to  another,  and  to  take  care  to 
arrive  before  the  sun  goes  down,  he  will  rightly  and 
full}'  understand  us,  in  reference  to  the  practical  object 
which  alone  we  had  in  view.  Now,  we  know  that 
there  cannot  really  be  a  straight  line  on  the  surface  of 
the  earth ;  and  that  the  sun  does  not  really  go  doivn^ 
only  our  portion  of  the  earth  is  turned  away  from  it. 
But  whether  the  other  party  knows  all  this  or  not, 
matters  nothing  to  our  present  object ;  which  was  not 
to  teach  him  mathematics  or  astronomy,  but  to  make 
him  conform  to  our  directions,  which  are  equally  in- 
telligible to  the  learned  and  the  unlearned. 

Now,  the  object  of  the  Scripture  revelation  is  to 
teach  men,  not  astronomy  or  geology,  or  any  other 
physical  science,  but  Religion.    Its  design  was  to  inform 


INTRODUCTION.  31 


men,  not  in  what  manner  the  world  was  made,  but 
WHO  made  it ;  and  to  lead  them  to  worship  Him,  the 
Creator  of  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  instead  of  wor- 
shipping his  creatures,  the  heavens  and  earth  them- 
selves, as  gods ;  which  is  what  the  ancient  heathen 
actually  did. 

Although,  therefore.  Scripture  gives  very  scanty 
and  imperfect  information  respecting  the  earth  and 
the  heavenly  bodies,  and  speaks  of  them  in  the  lan- 
guage and  according  to  the  notions  of  the  people  of 
a  rude  age,  still  it  fully  effects  the  object  for  which  it 
was  given,  when  it  teaches  that  the  heavens  and  the 
earth  are  not  gods  to  be  worshipped,  but  that  ''  God 
created  the  heavens  and  the  earth^''  and  that  it  is  He 
who  made  the  various  tribes  of  animals,  and  also 
Man. 

But  as  for  astronomy  and  geology  and  other  sci- 
ences, men  were  left,  when  once  sufficiently  civilised 
to  be  capable  of  improving  themselves,  to  make  disco- 
veries in  them  by  the  exercise  of  their  own  faculties. 

But  whatever  may  have  been  the  religious  instruc- 
tion originally  afforded  to  mankind,  most  of  them 
appear  not  to  have  made  the  proper  use  of  their  ad- 
vantages; but  to  have  flillen,  in  very  early  times,  into 
idolatry  and  superstitions  of  various  kinds. 

Whether  false  religion  was  introduced  before  the 
flood,  we  are  not  expressly  told ;  but  there  is  every 
reason  to  think  it  must  have  been.  F(3r  we  read  that 
mankind  had  become  excessively  wicked,  and  that 
this  brought  on  them  that  terrible  judgment.     And  all 


82  INTRODUCTION. 

experience  shews  that  great  moral  depravity  and 
gross  religious  corruption  accompany  each  other. 
Moral  corruption  favours  the  introduction  of  corrupted 
and  false  religious  notions;  and  a  false  religion,  in 
turn,  favours  immorality. 

Moreover,  there  is  a  passage  in  Genesis  (chap.  iv. 
26),  which,  though  it  be  but  an  obscure  hint,  seems 
to  relate  to  the  first  introduction  of  false  gods,  in  the 
times  of  Enos,  grandson  of  Adam,  and  apparently 
about  three  or  four  centuries  after  the  creation.  The 
passage  is  translated  in  the  text  of  our  version,  "Then 
began  men  to  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord: 
nin^  tim  J<ip^  '^r^'^^Ti  t^.  (Gen.  iv.  26.)  But  the  trans- 
lation in  the  margin  is,  "  Then  began  men  to  call 
themselves  by  the  name  of  the  Lord."  And  some 
learned  men  translate  it,  "  Then  began  men  to  call 
the  Lord  by  name." 

The  sense  of  the  passage  certainly  cannot  be  that 
divine  worship  was  then  introduced  for  the  first  time ; 
which,  we  know,  from  the  preceding  history  (ch.  iv. 
3),  was  not  the  case.  But  it  probably  means  that, 
then,  those  who  worshipped  the  true  God,  began  to 
apply  to  Him  some  distinct  name  or  title,  such  as 
Adonai  or  Jehovah^  to  distinguish  Him  from  the  pre- 
tended gods  worshipped  by  others,  and  that  they  call- 
ed themselves  "by  his  name,"  that  is,  described 
themselves  as  his  worshippers,  to  distinguish  them- 
selves from  those  who  served  other  gods.  As  long  as 
one  God  only  was  acknowledged  in  the  world,  there 
was  no  need  to  apply  to  Him  any  distinguishing  title. 
But  when  the  worship  of  other  Beings  was  introduced, 


INTRODUCTION.  33 

it  would  be  necessary  for  the  true  worshippers  to  mark 
the  distinction.  It  is  probable,  therefore,  that  this 
was  the  time  when  such  false  worship  first  became 
prevalent. 

In  later  times,  we  know,  false  religions  did  prevail 
very  extensively,  as  indeed  they  still  do,  among  a 
large  portion  of  mankind. 

We  shall  next  consider  what  was  the  real  character 
of  the  Pagan  religions,  and  in  what  way  it  is  likely 
they  were  introduced. 


84  RISE,   PROGRESS,   AND 


THE   PAGAN    RELIGIONS. 

The  worshippers  of  false  gods,  such  as  the  greater 
part  of  mankind  formerly  were,  are  "usually  called 
Heathens  or  Pagans.  The  word  Heathen  as  well  as  the 
word  Gentiles^  which  had  the  same  meaning,  signified 
originally  Nations.  But  since  all,  or  nearly  all,  na- 
tions except  the  Jews  (who  called  themselves  the 
Lord's  People)  were  worshippers  of  false  gods,  hence 
the  word  "  Heathen"*  came  to  be  used  as  it  is  now. 
And  the  word  "Pagan"  also,  which  originally  signi- 
fied a  Villager,  came  to  be  used  in  the  same  sense ; 
because,  in  the  early  times  of  Christianity,  many  of 
the  inhabitants  of  retired  country  villages  retained 
their  old  superstitions,  after  the  inhabitants  of  the 
towyis  had  been  converted  to  the  Gospel. 

There  are  some  persons,  who  though  possessing  a 
considerable  knowledge  of  things  connected  with  My- 
thology, yet  mistake  altogether  the  real  character  of 
the  Pagan  religions.  They  sometimes  imagine  that 
all   men,    in   every   age   and    country,    had    always 

*  This  is  the  commonly  received  etymology,  though  some  think  it  is 
derived  from  the  German  "Heiden,"  inhabitant  of  a  "heath"  or  wil- 
derness. 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  85 

designed  to  worship  one  Supreme  God,  the  maker 
of  all  things;*  and  that  the  error  of  the  Pagans 
consisted  merely  in  the  false  accounts  they  gave  of 
Ilim,  and  in  their  worshipping  other  inferior  gods 
besides. 

But  this  is  altogether  a  mistake.  Few,  if  any,  of 
the  ancient  Pagans  ever  thought  of  worshipping  a 
Supreme  Creator  at  all.  Those  who  believed,  or  sus- 
pected, that  the  world  had  been  created,  never  pre- 
tended that  it  was  the  work  of  any  of  the  gods  they 
worshipped.f  Many  held  that  the  world  was  not 
created,  but  eternal ;  and  others  maintained  that 
though  it  had  a  beginning,  it  was  the  production  of 
what  they  called  chance;  that  is,  they  fancied  that 
the  particles  of  matter  of  which  the  world  consists, 
moved  about  at  random,  and  accidentally  fell  into  the 
shape  it  now  bears. 

These  persons  were  what  we  should  call  Atheists. 
For  by  the  word  GOD,  we  understand  an  Eternal 
Being,  who  made  and  who  governs  all  things.  And 
if  any  one  should  deny  that  there  is  any  such  Being, 
we  should  saj^  that  he  was  an  Atheist ;  even  though 
he  might  believe  that  there  do  exist  Beings  superior 

*  See  Pope's  Universal  Prayer. 

"  Father  of  all,  in  every  age, 
In  every  clime  adored ; 
By  saint,  by  savage,  and  by  sage, 
Jehovah,  Jove,  or  Lord." 

\  Sic  ubi  dispositara  quv^quis  full  ilk  Deorum  Congeriem  secuit, 
Bectamque  in  membra  redegit,  &c.  &c — Ooid.  Metam.  1. 


36 


to  man  ;-  sucli  as  the  Fairies  and  Genii  in  whom  the 
uneducated  in  many  parts  of  Europe  still  believe. 

Accordingly,  the  Apostle  Paul  (Eph.  ii.  12)  ex- 
pressly calls  the  ancient  Pagans  Atheists  ('-^sot), 
though  he  well  knew  that  they  worshipped  certain 
supposed  superior  Beings  which  they  called  gods. 
But  he  says  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Komans,  that  they 
"  worshipped  the  creature  more  thanf  {i.e.  instead  of) 
the  Creator."  And  at  Lystra  (Acts  xiv.  15),  when 
the  people  w^ere  going  to  do  sacrifice  to  him  and  Bar- 
nabas, mistaking  them  for  two  of  their  gods,  he  told 
them  to  "  turn  from  these  vanities  to  serve  the  living 
Grod,  who  made  heaven  and  earthP 

This  is  what  is  declared  in  the  first  sentence  of  the 
Book  of  Genesis.  And  so  far  were  the  ancient  Pa- 
gans from  believing  that  "  in  the  beginning  God  made 


*  "  Now,  suppose  that  any  one  in  those  ages  had  denied  the  exist- 
ence of  God  and  his  angels,  would  not  his  impiety  justly  have 
deserved  the  appellation  of  Atheism,  even  though  he  had  still  allowed, 
by  some  odd  capricious  reasoning,  that  the  popular  stories  of  elves  and 
fairies  were  just  and  well-grounded  ?  The  difierence,  on  the  one  hand, 
between  such  a  person  and  a  genuine  Tlieist,  is  infinitely  greater  than 
that  on  the  other  between  him  and  one  who  absolutely  excludes  all 
invisible  intelligent  power.  And  it  is  a  fallacy  merely  from  the  casual 
resemblance  of  names,  without  any  conformity  of  meaning,  to  rank 
such  opposite  opinions  under  the  same  denomination.  To  any  one 
who  considers  justly  of  the  matter,  it  will  appear  that  the  gods  of  all 
Polytheists  are  no  better  than  the  elves  or  fairies  of  our  ancestors,  and 
merit  as  little  any  pious  worship  or  veneration.  These  pretended  reli- 
gionists are  really  a  kind  of  superstitious  Atheists,  and  acknowledge 
no  Being  that  corresponds  to  our  idea  of  a  deity." — Hume's  Natural 
History  of  Religion^  sec.  4. 

T   i:ap\  Tov  KTiaiifTci. 


CORRUPTIONS   OF    CHRISTIANITY.  37 

the  heavens  and  tlie  earth,"  that,  on  the  contrary, 
the  heavens,  and  the  earth,  and  the  sea,  and  many 
other  natural  objects,  were  among  the  very  gods  they 
adored. 

The  heavens — that  is  the  sky,  the  atmosphere 
around  us — they  worshipped  under  the  titles  of  Zeus 
or  Dis — of  Jupiter  or  Jove — and  (among  the  Canaan- 
ites  and  Babylonians)  of  Baal,  Bel,  or  Belus.*  They 
worshipped  the  earth  also  under  the  names  of  Deme- 
ter  and  Cybele  ;  called  by  our  Anglo-Saxon  ancestors 
Ilertha  (whence  our  words  "  earth  "  and  "  hearth  "), 
and  by  them  most  especially  venerated. 

The  Pagans  also  worshipped  the  sea,  under  the 
title  of  Neptune ;  the  sun,  under  that  of  Phoebus  or 
Apollo ;  and  the  moon  under  that  of  Diana.  These 
last  they  called  the  son  and  daughter  of  Jove ;  mean- 
ing that  the  sun  and  moon  were  produced  by  the 
heavens. 

The  Egyptians  also  worshipped  the  same  kind  of 
gods,  and,  among  others,  the  great  river  Nile,  oq 
which  the  fertility  of  their  country  depends.  The 
plagues  which  the  Lord  sent  on  Egypt  (Exod.  xii.  12) 
when  he  delivered  the  Israelites,  seem  to  have  been 
partly  designed  to  prove  his  superiority  and  dominion 
over  these  pretended  gods,  by  making  them  the  very 
instruments  of  his  judgments.  Their  river  was  turned 
into  blood  ;  the  earth  brouglit  forth  a  plague  of  frogs ; 
the  sky,  or  atmosphere  which  they  worshipped,  sent 
forth  destructive  hail  and  lightning ;  and  the  sun  was 
darkened.  This  was  a  useful  lesson,  both  to  the 
*  J.<<;,  B;  ..  Herodotus. 


88 


Israelites  and  to  the  Egyptians  themselves,  as  many 
as  would  learn  from  it. 

The  ancient  Pagans  seem  to  have  supposed  that 
certain  living  spirits  resided  in,  and  ruled  over,  the 
air,  the  sun,  moon,  earth,  and  sea.  And  besides  these, 
they  also  worshipped  a  number  of  other  supposed 
Beings  who  presided  over  the  several  passions,  and 
faculties,  and  actions  of  man.  Thus  Minerva  was  the 
goddess  of  wisdom  ;  and  Mars  the  god  of  war :  and 
they  often  used  the  word  Minerva  to  signify  intelli- 
gence^ and  Mars  to  signify  valor.  So  Hermes  (or  Mer- 
cury) was  supposed  to  preside  over  traffic^  and  also 
over  eloquence.  And  thence  it  was  that  the  Lystrans 
"  called  Paul  '  Mercurius,'  because  he  was  the  chief 
speaker."     (Acts  xiv.  12.) 

None  of  the  ancient  Pagans  considered  any  of  their 
gods  as  eternal.  They  generally  supposed  them  im- 
mortal — that  is,  exempt  from  death ;  but,  for  the 
most  part,  they  had  some  tradition  about  the  hirth 
of  each  of  them.  Indeed,  several  of  them  were 
confessedly  dead  men,  whom  they  imagined  to  have 
been  raised  to  the  ranks  of  the  gods  by  their  great 
deeds  on  earth.  Thus  Eomulus,  the  founder  of 
Rome,  was  worshipped  by  the  Romans  under  the 
title  of  Quirinus.  And  Hercules,  and  many  others, 
worshipped  by  the  ancient  Pagans,  were  deified 
men,  supposed  to  have  gained  immortality,  by  their 
eminent  virtues,  and  especially  by  their  feats  of 
war. 

The  Northern  nations,  however,  thought  that  the 
gods  they  worshipped  were  not  immortal,  but  doomed 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  39 

finally  to  perish,  after  a  very  long  life.*  These  gods, 
nevertheless,  are  supposed,  most  of  them,  to  have 
answered  to  the  Greek  and  Roman  gods,  though  with 
different  names.  Of  these  names  we  have  still  a  kind 
of  record  in  the  names  of  the  days  of  the  week,  which 
were  dedicated  by  our  Pagan  forefathers,  each  to  one 
of  their  gods.f  Many  of  the  Jews,  and  of  the  early 
Christians,  seem  not  to  have  disbelieved  the  existence 
of  the  heathen  gods,  but  to  have  considered  them  as 
evil  demons  whom  it  was  impious  to  worship.  They 
did,  indeed,  often  deride  the  Heathen  for  worshipping 
images,  "  the  work  of  men's  hands,  wood  and  stone." 
(Isa.  xliv.)  But  it  is  plain  that  any  one  who  so  wor- 
ships, must  believe  that  there  is  some  living  spirit 
residing  in  the  image,  or  somehow  connected  with  it. 
For  no  one  could  pay  adoration  to  a  mere  stone, 
believing  it  himself  to  be  nothing  more  than  a  mere 
stone.  And  it  appears  that  many  of  the  Jews  and 
early  Christians  believed  the  Beings  that  were  repre- 
sented by  the  heathen  idols  to  be  demons.  Thus  we 
find  the  Jews  calling  Beelzebub  the  prince  of  the 
demons,  and   blasphemously  attributing  to   him  the 

*  "  Till  Lok  has  burst  his  tenfold  chain, 
.     .     .     .     till  substantial  night 
Has  reassumed  her  ancient  right." — Gray. 

f  The  first  day  of  the  week  was  dedicated,  as  its  name  shews,  to 
the  sun,  and  tlie  second  t  >  the  moon  ;  Tuesday  was  sacred  to  Tuisco, 
the  same  as  the  Roman  Mars;  Wednesday  to  Woden,  who  is  supposed 
to  be  the  same  with  Mercury ;  Thursday  to  Thor,  that  is  Jupiter ; 
Friday  to  Friga,  who  was  the  Venus  of  the  Romans ;  and  Saturday  to 
Saturn. 


40  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

miracles  of  our  Lord.  Now  Beelzebub  was  the  Phi- 
listine god  of  Ekron.     (2  Kings  i.) 

And  certainly  the  character  which  the  Pagans  attri- 
buted to  their  gods,  was  very  much  that  of  evil 
demons.  The  very  best  of  these  gods  were  repre- 
sented by  them  as  capricious  and  profligate  tyrants, 
whom  they  worshipped  more  from  fear  than  love. 
One,  in  particular,  who  was  especially  dreaded,  was 
Pan,  the  god  of  shepherds.  In  particular,  they  attri- 
buted to  him  all  sudden  and  unaccountable  terrors, 
such  as  sometimes  seize  armies  or  other  large  bodies 
of  men,  and  which  have  thence  received  the  name  of 
Panic.  Their  images  represent  him  as  partly  in  the 
human  form,  and  partly  in  that  of  a  goat,  with  horns 
and  cloven  hoofs.  And  hence  it  is,  that  by  a  kind  of 
tradition,  we  often  see,  even  at  this  day,  representa- 
tions of  Satan  in  this  form.  For,  the  early  Christians 
seem  to  have  thought  that  it  was  he  whom  the  Pagans 
adored  under  the  name  of  Pan. 

This  is  certain,  that  several  savage  tribes  at  this 
day  profess  to  believe  in  a  good  god,  and  an  evil  one  ; 
and  address  all  their  worship,  and  offer  their  sacrifices 
to  the  evil  one.  They  suppose  that  the  Good  Being 
will,  of  his  own  accord,  without  being  asked,  do  all 
the  good  in  his  power ;  and  all  their  prayers  and 
offerings  are  to  the  Evil  one — or  to  several  evil 
Beings — whose  malice  they  hope  to  soften.* 

*  We  have  an  amusing  instance  of  this  tendency  of  the  human  mind 
in  the  anecdote  (a  true  one),  of  the  schoolboy  who  was  observed  to  bow 
in  church  whenever  the  name  of  Satan  was  mentioned;  and  being 
asked  the  reason,  replied,  "I  was  afraid  he  might  do  me  some  harm." 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  41 

The  images  and  pictures  of  the  gods  of  the  ancient 
Egyptians,  and  of  the  Hindoos  at  this  day,  are  usually 
strange  monstrous  figures,  half  man  and  half  brute. 
And  such  was  the  Philistine  image  of  Dagon,  which 
Avas  half  man  and  half  fish.*  The  Greeks  and 
Romans,  on  the  contrary,  represented  the  greater  part 
of  their  deities  as  handsome  men  and  women  ;  but 
the  image  of  Pan  and  some  others  were  exceptions. 
And  the  emblemf  of  Diana  at  Ephesus,  which  they 
worshipped  as  having  "fallen  down  from  Jupiter,"  is 
said  to  have  been  a  rude,  shapeless  stone.  It  was 
most  likely  an  aerolite — one  of  those  stones  which  do 
really  sometimes  fall  from  the  sky.  So  probably,  is 
also  the  black  mass  of  stone  at  Mecca,  in  the  Caaba, 
venerated  by  the  Mahometans.  For  though  Maho- 
met was  opposed  to- idolatry,  he  found  the  veneration 
of  the  Arabians  for  this  stone  to  be  so  great,  that  he 
did  not  venture  to  oppose  it. 

As  for  the  kind  of  worship  which  the  Pagans  paid 
to  their  gods,  it  was  very  much  what  might  have  been 
expected,  considering  what  kind  of  Beings  these  gods 
w^ere,  according  to  their  own  accounts  of  them.  When 
Moses  is  cautioning  the  Israelites  against  being  led 
away  by  the  example  of  their  idolatrous  neighbours,  he 
says,  "  Every  abomination  unto  the  Lord,  which  he 
hateth,  have  these  nations  done  unto  their  gods ;  for 

*  The  name  does  actually  signify  a  fish. 

f  In  our  version  (Acts  xix.),  it  is  called  "the  image  which  fell  down 
from  Jupiter,"  but  the  word  "image,"  is  supplied  by  the  translators; 
the  original  merely  speaks  of  their  being  worshippers,  r.v  Ai  ire-jv,,  of 
'  that  which  fell  down  from  Jupiter." 


42 


even  their  sons  and  tlieir  daughters,  have  they  burned 
in  the  fire  unto  their  gods."  And  the  inhabitants  of 
the  South  Sea  Islands,  at  this  day,  offer  human  vic- 
tims to  their  gods  ;  as  did  also  the  people  of  Mexico. 
The  grossest  profligacy,  and  the  most  atrocious  cruel- 
ties, were  not  only  not  forbidden  by  the  Pagan  reli- 
gions, but  were  even  a  part  of  their  religious  worship ; 
especially  at  the  festivals  of  Bacchus. 

And  even  the  best  of  their  gods  were  supposed  to 
be  more  gratified  by  costly  offerings  and  splendid 
temples,  than  by  a  pure  and  virtuous  life  in  their 
worshippers.  This,  indeed,  was  quite  natural ;  since 
these  gods  were  described  as  not  only  themselves  com- 
mitting the  most  abominable  actions,  but  as  patrons 
of  such  actions.  Mercury,  for  instance,  was  reckoned 
the  god,  not  only  of  traffic,  but  of  cheating ;  and  the 
Eomans  had  a  goddess  of  thieves,  called  Laverna,* 
who  was  regularly  worshipped,  as  well  as  the  rest. 
Mars  and  Bellona  are  described  as  delighting  in  hu- 
man carnage.  And,  indeed,  there  are  in  modern  lan- 
guages, words  still  in  use,  derived  from  the  Pagan 
religions,  and  generally  signifying  something  evil.  For 
instance,  the  words  Martial,  Panic,  Bacchanalian,  Jo- 
vial, and  many  others  that  might  be  added. 

As  for  the  notions  of  the  ancient  Pagans  respecting 
a  future  state,  the  Popular  Mythology  of  the  Greeks 
and  Romans  did  certainly  contain  ample  descriptions 
of  a  life  after  this,  and  of  the  places  prepared  for  the 

* '•  Pulclira  Laverna, 

Da  milii  fallere,  da  justo  sanctoque  videri ; 

Noctem  peccatis,  et  fraudibus  objice  nubem." — Horace. 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  43 

reward  and  punishment  respectively  of  the  virtuous 
and  the  wicked.  It  might  indeed  be  urged  with  truth, 
that  this  Mj'thologj,  resting  as  it  did  on  no  other  evi- 
dence than  that  of  vague,  and  incoherent,  and  contra- 
dictory traditions,  could  not  afford  any  rational  assur- 
ance of  a  future  state.  And  such,  of  course,  must  be 
the  case  with  the  notions  of  Pagans  of  the  present  day 
on  the  subject,  as  well  as  with  those  of  the  barbarian 
nations  of  antiquity,  of  whose  Mythology  we  have 
no  distinct  and  authentic  accounts.  How  far  the  doc- 
trine of  a  future  state  did  or  does  prevail  as  a  matter 
of  serious  beliefs  in  those  nations,  it  is  by  no  means 
easy  to  determine  on  sufficient  evidence.  In  those  of 
modern  times  it  is  also  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to 
decide  whether,  and  to  what  degree,  some  parts  of 
their  religion  may  have  been  derived,  through  a  re- 
mote and  corrupt  tradition,  from  the  Grospel.  The 
fairest  mode  of  trying  the  question,  therefore,  seems 
to  be,  by  examining  the  opinions  that  prevailed  before 
the  promulgation  of  the  Gospel.  And  these  affi3rd,  as 
we  have  said,  no  well-founded  assurance.  Nor  again, 
did  the  Pagan  Mythology  inculcate  the  doctrine  of  a 
resurrection ;  and  it  was  in  many  other  points  greatly 
at  variance  with  what  Christians  receive  as  the  au- 
thentic and  true  accounts.  Still  it  must  be  admitted 
that  a  system  so  far  correct  in  its  outline,  as  to  contain 
the  notion  of  a  just  judgment  and  a  state  of  retribution 
hereafter,  to  be  influenced  by  our  conduct  during  the 
present  life,  would  in  some  degree  supply  the  want 
of  the  Gospel  revelation  on  these  points,  provided  it 
were  (on  whatever  evidence)  fully  and  firmly  and  ge- 


44 


nerally  established  among  the  mass  of  the  community. 
But  that  tliis  was  not  the  case  with  respect  to  the  ac- 
counts of  a  future  state  current  among  the  ancients,  is 
the  conclusion  which  will  present  itself  to  any  one 
who  examines  the  question  fully  and  candidly.  We 
say  fully  and  candidly,  because  one  whose  researches 
are  very  limited,  will  not  be  unlikely  to  have  met  with 
such  passages  only  in  ancient  writers  as  would,  of 
themselves,  lead  to  a  contrary  conclusion;  and  one 
who  is  strongly  prepossessed  in  favour  of  that  conclu- 
sion, will  confine  his  attention  to  those  passages,  seek- 
ing only  to  explain  away  all  that  militates  against  it. 
The  truth  is,  there  are  many  passages  to  be  found 
(and  that  frequently  in  the  same  authors)  of  each  de- 
scription ;  some  that  seem  to  imply  the  general  belief, 
and  others  the  disbelief,  of  the  accounts  of  a  future 
life.  And  some  have  dwelt  on  the  numerical  superi- 
ority of  those  passages  that  favour  the  doctrine ;  as  if  a 
book  were  to  be  regarded  in  the  same  light  as  a  legis- 
lative assembly,  in  which  we  have  only  to  count  the 
votes  on  each  side,  and  consider  the  decision  of  the 
majority  as  that  of  the  whole.  But  it  should  be  re- 
membered that,  in  such  a  case,  the  expressions  which 
negative  the  belief,  are  entitled  to  far  the  greater 
weight.  For  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  fables  of 
Elysium  and  Tartarus  were  a  part  of  the  popular  re- 
ligion, which  it  was  usually  thought  decorous  to  speak 
of  with  respect :  and  the  doctrine  of  a  future  state 
was  regarded  as  especially  expedient  to  be  inculcated 
on  the  vulgar,  in  order  to  restrain  them  in  cases  be- 
yond the  control  of  human  laws ;  so  that  a  good  rea- 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  45 

son  can  be  assigned  for  a  pliilosopber's  appearing  to 
consider  the  doctrine  as  indubitable,  though  he  neither 
believed  it  himself,  nor  could  flatter  himself  that  it 
was  so  generally  believed  as  he  might  think  desirable : 
whereas,  on  the  other  hand,  no  reason  whatever  can 
be  assigned  for  any  one's  treating  it  as  a  fable,  if  he 
really  did  believe  it. 

When,  then,  we  find  Socrates  and  his  disciples  re- 
presented b}^  Plato  as  fully  admitting,  in  their  discus- 
sion of  the  subject,  that  "Men  in  general  were  highly 
incredulous  as  to  the  soul's  future  existence,"  and  as 
expecting  that  it  would  at  the  moment  of  our  natural 
"  death,  be  dispersed  (as  he  expresses  it)  like  air  or 
smoke,  and  cease  altogether  to  exist.  So  that  it  would 
require  no  little  persuasion  and  argument  to  convince 
them  that  the  soul  can  exist  after  death,  and  can  retain 
anything  of  its  powers  and  intelligence."  When  we 
find  this  asserted,  or  rather  alluded  to,  as  notoriously 
the  state  of  popular  opinion,  we  can  surely  entertain 
but  little  doubt  that  the  accounts  of  Elysium  and  Tar- 
tarus were  regarded  as  mere  poetical  fables,  calculated 
to  amuse  the  imagination,  but  unworthy  of  serious 
belief 

Again,  the  testimony  of  Thucydides,  not  as  to  the 
professed  belief,  but  as  to  the  conduct,  of  the  Athenians, 
under  those  trying  circumstances  in  which  the  near 
approach  of  death  impresses  the  most  forcibly  the 
thought  of  a  future  state  on  the  minds  of  those  who 
expect  it — his  testimony,  we  say,  as  to  their  conduct 
on  such  an  occasion,  must  alone  prove  almost  decisive 
of  the  question.     For  it  will  hardly  be  denied,  that 


46  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

those  who  firmly  believe  in  a  future  state,  or  even  re- 
gard it  as  a  thing  highly  probable,  however  the  pur- 
suits and  occupations  of  this  world  may  have  drawn 
off  their  attention  from  it,  will  be  likely,  when  death 
evidently  draws  near, — death,  not  in  the  tumultuous 
ardour  of  battle,  but  in  the  calm  yet  resistless  progress 
of  disease, — to  think  with  lively  and  anxious  interest 
of  the  life  of  another  world.  If  they  have  any  appre- 
hensions at  all  of  judgment  to  come,  they  will  usually 
wish  to  "  die  the  death  of  the  righteous,"  even  though 
they  may  not  have  been  willing  to  lead  the  life  of  the 
righteous.  Even  those  who  have  been  in  some  doubt 
respecting  this  truth,  or  who  have  studied  to  keep  it 
out  of  sight,  are  often  found  to  believe  in  it  the  most 
firmly  at  that  awful  moment,  when  they  would  be 
most  glad  to  disbelieve  it,  and  then  to  think  most  of 
it,  when  the  thought  is  most  intolerable. 

It  is  not  necessary  for  the  present  purpose  to  con- 
tend that  what  has  been  just  said  constitutes  a  rule 
without  exception ;  let  it  be  admitted  only  as  apply- 
ing to  the  generality,  or  even  to  a  considerable  portion 
merely,  of  mankind  (and  thus  far,  at  least,  we  are 
surely  borne  out,  both  by  reason  and  experience); 
and  let  any  one,  with  these  principles  before  him, 
contemplate  the  picture  drawn  of  the  pestilence  which 
ravaged  Athens  during  the  Peloponnesian  war,  by 
that  judicious  historian  who  was  an  eye-witness,  and 
a  partaker  of  the  calamity.  Whether  the  ancient  poets 
or  philosophers  be  regarded  as  the  better  instructors 
in  the  doctrine  of  a  future  state,  Athens  had  no  defi- 
ciency in  either ;  and  a  plague  so  wide-spreading,  so 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  47 

irresistible,  and  which  brought  with  it  to  those  whom 
it  seized  (as  we  are  expressly  told),  such  an  utter  de- 
spair of  recovery,  may  be  fairly  expected  to  have  had 
the  effect,  in  some  minds  at  least,  of  awakening  what- 
ever belief,  or  even  suspicion,  they  might  have  enter- 
tained respecting  Tartarus  and  Elj^sium,  and  of  call- 
ing into  action  their  fears  and  hopes  on  the  subject. 
We  might  expect  to  find  some  of  them,  at  least, 
bewailing  their  sins,  making  reparation  to  those  they 
had  injured,  and  in  every  way  striving  to  prepare  for 
the  j  udgment  that  seemed  impending. 

The  very  reverse  took  place.  The  historian  tells 
us,  that  "seeing  death  so  near  them,  they  resolved  to 
make  the  most  of  life  while  it  lasted,  by  setting  at 
nought  all  laws,  divine  and  human,  and  eagerly 
plunging  into  every  species  of  profligacy."  Kor  was 
this  conduct  by  any  means  confined  to  the  most  vile 
and  worthless  of  the  community;  for  he  complains  of 
a  general  and  permanent  depravation  of  morals,  which 
dated  its  origin  from  this  calamity.  Nor  again,  does 
the  description  apply  to  such  only  as  had  been,  either 
openly  or  secretly,  contemners  of  the  whole  system 
of  the  national  religion;  for  we  are  told,  that  "at  first, 
many  had  recourse  to  the  offices  of  their  religion,  with 
a  view  to  appease  the  gods  ;  but  that  when  they  found 
their  sacrifices  and  ceremonies  availed  7iothing  against 
the  disease,  and  that  the  pious  and  the  impious  alike 
fell  victims  to  it,  they  at  once  concluded  that  piety 
and  impiety  were  altogether  indifferent,  and  cast  off 
all  religious  and  moral  obligations."  Is  it  not  evident 
from  this,  that  those  who  did  reverence  the  gods,  had 


48  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

been  accustomed  to  look  for  none  but  temporal  rewards 
and  punishments  from  them  ?  Can  we  conceive  that 
men  who  expected  that  virtue  should  be  rewarded  and 
vice  punished,  in  the  other  world,  would,  just  at  their 
entrance  into  that  world,  hegin  to  regard  virtue  and 
vice  as  indifferent  ?  It  is  but  too  true,  indeed,  that 
men  have  been  found  in  countries  where  Christianity 
is  professed,  so  hardened,  as  to  manifest,  even  at  the 
approach  of  death,  no  regard  to  the  judgment  which 
Christianity  teaches  is  to  succeed  it;  who  have  availed 
themselves  of  present  impunity  for  the  commission  of 
crimes,  or  have  endeavoured  to  drown  thought  in  sen- 
sual excess;  but  instances  of  this  kind  rather  go  to 
prove  that  such  men  do  not^  than  that  the  heathen  did^ 
believe  in  a  future  retribution ;  if  by  belief  is  to  be 
understood,  not  a  mere  unthinking  assent,  or  a  mere 
non-denial  of  the  doctrine,  but  a  deliberate,  firm,  and 
habitual  conviction. 

Those  who  have  been  long  hardened  in  habits  of 
extreme  profligacy,  may  ultimately  become  as  bHnd 
to  all  ideas  of  a  future  state,  as  if  they  had  never  heard 
of  it ;  but  experience,  as  well  as  reason,  forbids  us  to 
believe  that,  where  the  Gospel  is  assiduously  preached 
and  accepted,  such  a  degree  of  ignorance,  or  of 
depravity,  can  ever  be  general,  much  less  universal. 

And  accordingl}^,  it  appears  that  the  great  plague 
which  desolated  London,  produced,  on  the  whole,  an 
effect  exactly  opposite  to  that  at  Athens.  Some 
abandoned  wretches,  no  doubt,  took  the  same  advan- 
tage as  the  Athenians  did,  of  the  calamity ;  but  the 
generality  seem  plainly  to  have  shewn  that  their  belief 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  49 

of  a  future  state,  however  it  might  have  lain  dormant 
during  a  time  of  apparent  security,  and  however 
easily  it  might  be  thrown  off  on  a  return  to  such  a 
state,  was  real  and  deep-rooted.  No  instances  are 
recorded  there  of  pious  men  renouncing  their  piety 
w^hen  they  saw  death  approaching:  on  the  contrary, 
serious  devotion  seems,  for  the  most  part,  to  have 
prevailed ;  and  if  not  reformation,  at  least  alarm  and 
contrition,  to  have  been  generally  produced  among 
sinners.  Many  are  said,  when  attacked  by  the  plague, 
to  have  even  rushed  into  the  public  streets,  confessing 
aloud  and  bewailing  crimes  long  ago  committed,  and 
never  before  imputed  to  them,  and  earnestly  seeking 
to  make  reparation. 

Can  we,  then,  on  comparing  two  such  cases  together, 
come  to  the  conclusion,  that  in  each  the  notions  re- 
specting a  future  state  were  the  same,  or  at  all  similar? 
Is  not  the  inference  obvious,  that,  at  least,  the  Athe- 
nians of  that  age  considered  the  accounts  of  a  future 
life  as  no  more  than  amusing  fictions,  of  whose  utter 
falsity  there  was  no  reason  even  to  doubt?  And 
accordingly,  when  Pericles  is  represented  by  the  same 
historian,  as  exhausting  every  topic  of  consolation,  in 
his  address  to  the  friends  of  those  who  had  fallen  in 
battle,*  he  speaks  of  their  glorious  memory,  and  of 
the  hope  of  other  sons  to  be  born,  who  may  fill  their 
place,  and  emulate  their  worth,  but  adds  not  one  word 
of  their  future  life  and  immortality. 

And  that  the  prevailing  belief,  at  other  times,  and 
in  other  states,  Greek  or  Italian,  was  the  same  as  at 

*  TiiuCYD.,  lib.  ii.,  c,  35,  ei  seq. 


50  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

Athens  at  the  period  just  spoken  of,  there  is  at  least  a 
strong  presumption  till  evidence  of  the  contrary  is 
produced.  The  Athenians  were  noted  for  their  reli- 
gious devotion;  the  popular  mythology  which  pre- 
vailed among  the  other  Grecian  states,  and,  we  may 
add,  at  Kome,  was  the  same,  or  nearly  the  same,  with 
theirs ;  and  therefore  may  be  presumed,  in  the  absence 
of  all  proof  to  the  contrary,  to  have  had  the  same 
results  in  respect  of  the  belief  of  a  future  life.  Indeed, 
we  find  the  younger  Pliny, "^  in  his  account  of  the 
eruption  of  Vesuvius,  in  which  his  uncle  perished, 
recording,  among  the  striking  events  of  that  scene,  the 
excitement  of  a  feeling  not  unlike  that  of  the  Athenians 
in  the  plague — viz.,  a  general  distrust  of  divine  aid, 
arising  from  the  notion  that  the  gods  themselves  were 
possibly  involved  in  the  impending  ruin. 

The  belief,  then,  of  a  life  to  come,  though  nominally 
professed,  cannot  be  considered  as  practically  forming 
any  part  of  the  creed  of  those  ancient  nations  with 
whom  we  are  best  acquainted.  Cicero  acknowledges 
that  the  epistle  of  Sulpicius  to  him  on  the  death  of 
Tullia,  comprehended  every  argument  for  comfort 
which  the  case  admitted ;  yet  we  find  in  it  no  allu- 
sion to  the  one  topic  which  would  have  been  upper- 
most in  the  mind  of  a  believer.  It  is  no  wonder, 
therefore,  that  when  at  Athens,  Paul  came  to  speak 
of  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  some  of  his  hearers 
mocked ;  and  that  when  Festus  heard  him  declaring  the 
same  doctrine,  he  exclaimed,  "  Paul,  thou  art  beside 
thyself." 

*  Epist.,  lib.  iL,  ep.  20. 


CORKUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  51 

So  far,  indeed,  were  the  promulgators  of  Christianity 
from  finding  the  belief  of  a  future  state  already  well 
established,  that  they  appear  to  have  had  no  small 
difficulty  in  convincing  of  this  truth  even  some  of 
their  converts.  Some  of  those  who  denied  a  resurrec- 
tion^ niay,  indeed,  with  good  reason,  be  supposed  to 
have  looked  for  some  other  kind  of  future  existence ; 
but  when  Paul  finds  it  necessary  to  urge  "?/m  this 
life  only  ice  have  hope  in  Christ,  we  are  of  all  men  most 
miserable — let  us  eat  and  drink,  for  to-morrow  we 
die,"*  it  is  plain  he  must  have  been  opposing  such  as 
expected  nothing  beyond  the  grave.  And  when  he 
exhorts  the  Thessalonians  not  to  sorrow  for  the 
deceased,  "even  as  the  rest-\  (of  mankind),  who  have 
no  hope^^  we  have  the  testimony,  if  we  will  receive  it, 
of  one  who  knew  better  than  we  can,  the  real  senti- 
ments of  the  heathen  on  this  point. 

It  may  be  said,  however  (and  this,  perhaps,  is  the 
most  prevailing  notion),  that  little  as  the  vulgar  be- 
lieved in  the  doctrine  of  a  future  state,  it  was  received 
and  inculcated  by  many  eminent  philosophers.  But, 
in  reality,  the  doctrine  never  was  either  generally 
admitted  among  the  ancient  philosophers,  or  satisfac- 
torily proved  by  any  of  them,  even  in  the  opinion  of 
those  who  argued  in  fivour  of  it.     On  the  one  hand, 

*  Thus  Catullus:— 

Soles  occidere  et  redire  possunt : 
Nobis  cum  seniel  occidit  brevis  lux, 
Nox  esf  perpetua  una  dormitnda. 

I  o\  XoiTToi,  not  as  in  our  version,  others. 


52 


not  only  the  Epicurean  school  openly  contended  against 
it,  but  one  of  much  greater  weight  than  any  of  them, 
and  the  founder  of  a  far  more  illustrious  sect,  Aristotle, 
without  expressly  combating  the  notion  of  a  future 
state,  does  much  more — he  passes  it  by  as  not  worth 
considering,  and  takes  for  granted  the  contrary  sup- 
position, as  not  needing  proof.  He  remarks  inciden- 
tally in  his  treatise  on  courage,  that  "death  is  formi- 
dable beyond  most  other  evils,  on  account  of  its 
excluding  hope ;  since  it  is  a  complete  termination, 
and  there  does  not  appear  to  be  anything  either  of  good 
or  evil  heyond  itP  And  in  the  same  work,  in  discuss- 
ing the  question  whether  a  man  can  justly  be  pro- 
nounced happy  before  the  end  of  his  life,  he  proceeds 
all  along  (as  indeed  is  the  case  throughout),  on  the 
supposition,  that  after  death  a  man  ceases  altogether  to 
exist.  And  it  should  be  observed,  that  his  incidental 
and  oblique  allusion  to  this  latter  opinion,  implies  (as 
we  have  said)  much  more  than  if  he  had  expressly 
asserted  and  maintained  it.  In  that  case  he  would 
have  borne  testimony  only  to  his  own  belief ;  but  as 
it  is,  we  may  collect  from  his  mode  of  speaking,  that 
such  was  the  prevailing  and  generally  uncontradicted 
belief  of  the  rest  of  the  world. 

Of  those  philosophers,  again,  who  contended  for  a 
future  state,  it  is  to  be  observed,  not  only  that,  as  Dr. 
Paley  remarks,  they  did  not,  properly  speaking,  effect 
a  discovery ;  "it  was  only  one  guess  among  many:  he 
only  discovers  who  proves;"  but  also,  that  (as  has 
been  said  above)  their  arguments  did  not  fully  succeed 
in  convincing  even  themselves.     Those  which  at  one 


CORRUPTIONS   OF  CHRISTIANITY.  53 

time  tbej  bring  forward  as  decisive  proof,  tliey  seem, 
at  another  time,  to  regard  as  hardly  possessing  tliat 
degree  of  probability,  which,  now  that  the  doctrine  is 
established,  most  are  ready  to  allow  them.  Cicero, 
especially,  who  is  frequently  appealed  to  on  this 
question,  we  find  distinctly  acknowledging,  at  least 
in  the  person  of  one  of  his  disputants,  that  though, 
while  he  is  reading  the  Phaedo,  he  feels  disposed  to 
assent  to  the  reasons  urged  in  favour  of  a  future  state, 
his  conviction  vanishes  as  soon  as  he  lays  down  the 
book,  and  revolves  the  matter  in  his  own  thoughts ; 
which  was  the  feeling  probably  with  which  the  author 
himself  had  written  it.  Many,  indeed,  of  the  deistical 
waiters  of  modern  times  have  come  to  much  more 
decisive  conclusions  on  this,  and  also  on  many  other 
points,  than  the  ancients  did,  and,  indeed,  than  are 
fairly  warranted  by  any  arguments  which  unassisted 
reason  can  supply ;  but  this  only  affords  a  presump- 
tion of  the  powerful,  though  unacknowledged  and 
perhaps  unperceived  influence  which  the  Gospel  reve- 
lation has  exercised  even  on  the  minds  of  those  who 
reject  it.  They  have  drunk  at  that  stream  of  know- 
ledge, which  they  cannot  or  will  not  trace  to  the  real 
source  from  which  it  flows. 

As,  however,  even  the  faintest  conjecture  of  a 
future  existence,  though  it  must  not  be  confounded 
with  a  full  assurance  of  it,  is,  as  fxr  as  it  goes,  an 
approximation  towards  the  knowledge  of  truth ;  so 
also,  notions  considerably  incorrect  respecting  that 
existence,  if  they  are  but  such  as  to  involve  the  idea 
of  enjoyment  or  suffering,  corresponding  with  men's 


5i 


conduct  in  this  life,  have  so  far  something  of  a  just 
foundation,  and  of  a  tendency  to  practical  utility. 
This,  however,  appears  by  no  means  to  have  been  the 
case  with  the  systems  of  any,  as  far  as  we  can  learn, 
of  those  ancient  philosophers  who  contended  the  most 
strenuously  for  the  immortality  of  the  soul.  For  not 
only  do  they  seem  to  have  agreed,  that  no  suffering 
could  be  expected  by  the  wicked  in  another  life,  on 
the  ground  that  the  gods  were  incapable  of  anger, 
and  therefore  could  not  punish ;  but  the  very  notion 
of  the  soul's  immortality,  as  explained  by  them, 
involved  the  complete  destruction  of  distinct  personal 
existence.  Their  notion  was,  that  is,  when  they  spoke 
their  real  sentiments  (for  in  their  exoteric  or  popular 
works,  they  often  inculcate,  for  the  benefit  of  the 
vulgar,  the  doctrine  of  future  retribution,  which  they 
elsewhere  laugh  at),  that  the  soul  of  each  man  is  a 
portion  of  that  spirit  which  pervades  the  universe,  to 
which  it  is  reunited  at  death,  and  becomes  again  an 
undistinguishable  part  of  the  great  Whole,  just  as  the 
body  is  resolved  into  the  general  mass  of  matter.  So 
that  their  immortality,  or  rather  eternity,  of  the  soul, 
was  anterior  as  well  as  posterior ;  as  it  was  to  have 
no  end,  so  it  had  no  beginning ;  and  the  boasted  con- 
tinuance of  existence,  which,  according  to  this  system, 
we  are  to  expect  after  death,  consists  in  returning  to 
the  state  m  ivMch  we  were  hefore  birth;  which  every 
one  must  perceive  is  the  same  thing  virtually  with 
annihilation. 

Such,  then,  were  the  views  w^hich  prevailed  among 
the   most   enlightened   nations  of  antiquity  on   this 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  55 


subject.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Hindoos  of  the 
present  day  do  seem  to  believe  in  a  future  state  of 
existence.  They  hold  the  doctrine  of  transmigration, 
i.  e.,  that  the  souls  of  all  men  (except  those  of  extra- 
ordinary holiness)  are  doomed  to  migrate  into  the 
bodies  of  various  brutes,  and  at  length,  if  found 
worthy,  are  admitted  into  heaven.*  And  the  kind 
of  holiness  which  they  expect  will  entitle  men  to 
future  happiness,  consists  not  in  virtuous  conduct, 
but  in  rich  offerings,  and  the  performance  of  various 
ceremonies,  many  of  them  excessively  cruel ;  such  as 
hanging  themselves  up  by  iron  hooks  plunged  into 
their  flesh,  and  other  self-inflicted  tortures.  And  a 
woman  who  burns  herself  alive  along  with  her  hus- 
band's corpse,  and  any  one  who  drowns  himself  in 
the  sacred  river  Ganges,  or  gives  himself  to  be  de- 
voured by  certain  sacred  alligators,  or  to  be  crushed 
under  the  wheels  of  the  sacred  car  of  the  idol  Jugger- 
nauth,  is  supposed  to  gain  the  special  favour  of  their 
gods. 

The  real  character,  then,  of  the  Pagan  religions, 
being  such  as  we  have  described,  we  are  naturally  led 
to  wonder  that  the  Israelites  should  so  often  have 
fallen  into  idolatry,  after  having  had  the  true  God 
revealed  to  them.  Although  He  had  so  earnestly 
warned  them  not  to  worship  any  other  gods,  we  find 
them  continually  joining  the  worship  of  Baal  and 
other  heathen  gods  with  that  of  Jehovah.  This  ap- 
pears  to   some   persons  so  strange  as  to  be  hardly 

*  The  heaven  of  the  Buddhists,  however,  is  manifestly  annihilation 
circuitously  described. 


66 


credible ;  and  yet  the  very  same  thing  is  going  on, 
almost  before  our  eyes,  in  christian  countries  at  this 
very  day.  For  in  all  parts  of  Europe  the  most  un- 
educated portion  of  the  people  in  remote  districts  are 
found  to  believe  in,  and  fear  various  superhuman 
Beings,  which  are  in  reality  no  other  than  the  gods 
of  their  Pagan  forefathers.  And  though  they  do  not 
give  them  the  title  of  gods^  they  often  pay  them  great 
reverence,  and  make  some  kind  of  offerings  to  them. 

In  some  parts  of  the  British  Islands,  Fairies  are 
believed  in  and  venerated.  In  Scotland,  besides 
these,  we  hear  of  Bogles,  Brownies,  and  Kelpies,  as 
names  of  certain  superhuman  Beings  dreaded  by  the 
superstitious.  In  Denmark  and  Iceland,  we  hear  of 
Trolls ;  in  Germany  of  Nixes,  and  many  other  such 
Beings,  who  are  supposed  to  have  power  in  human 
affairs.  In  Norway,  the  country  people  are  said  to 
make  an  offering  of  a  cake  once  a  year  to  a  demon 
which  they  dread  ;  and  also  of  the  first  cheese  that  is 
made  each  spring.  In  some  parts  of  our  own  country, 
a  cottier's  wife  will  not  venture  to  bake  bread  or 
churn  butter,  without  offering  a  portion  to  the  fairies. 
And  several  other  such  acts  of  superstitious  devotion 
are  practised  in  various  parts  of  Europe. 

Now,  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  all  these 
Beings  who  are  thus  reverenced,  are,  as  we  have 
already  said,  the  very  heathen  gods  which  were 
formerly  worshipped  in  each  country.  And  the  per- 
sons who  shew  them  this  reverence,  and  who  seek  their 
help,  and  dread  to  displease  them,  and  aim  at  ob- 
taining their  good-will,  are  doing  exactly  the  same  as 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  57 

the  Israelites  of  old,  when  tliey  worshipped  Baal,  and 
Astaroth,  and  otlier  gods  of  the  heathen. 

But  what  misleads  people  in  their  notions  on  this 
subject,  is,  that  the  words  we  use  are  not  the  same  as 
the  ancient  Pagans  used.  What  were  formerly  called 
by  some  name  answering  to  "gods,"  are  now  called 
fairies,  or  "kelpies,"  or  genii,  &c.,  and  the  reverence 
shewn  them  is  not  called  icorsluj^ ;  and  the  offerings 
made  to  them  are  no  longer  called  sacrifices.  And 
thus  it  is  that  professed  Christians  deceive  themselves 
by  means  of  words,  and  fancy  that  they  are  not 
paying  worship  to  any  gods  besides  the  Lord,  though 
they  are  doing  the. same  thing  under  other  names. 

With  respect  to  the  way  in  which  false  religions 
were  first  introduced,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  they 
must  have  crept  in  gradually.  For  men  would  not 
all  at  once  forsake  the  worship  of  the  Great  Creator, 
and  forget  his  very  existence,  and  serve  other  gods 
instead  of  Him.  But  it  is  likely  that,  when  they  had 
come  to  imagine  certain  inferior  spirits  to  reside  in 
the  sun  and  moon,  the  sea,  rivers,  groves,  &c.,  they 
would  next  be  led  to  call  upon  these  Beings,  in  the 
hope  that,  perhaps^  such  prayers  might  be  heard. 
And  when  once  the  practice  has  arisen  of  men's 
adding  on  to  the  worship  of  the  Most  High,  some 
invocations  of  other  inferior  Beings,  this  latter  kind 
of  worship  always  tends  to  prevail  over  and  drive 
out  the  other.  Men  seem  to  think  that  an  inferior 
Being  who  approaches  more  nearly  to  their  own  na- 
ture, is  more  likely  to  feel  sympathy  with  them,  and 

3* 


58  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

perhaps  is  also  more  likely  to  be  gratified  by  their 
adoration  and  their  offerings,  than  the  Supreme  God. 
And  even  at  this  day  there  are  some  Pagan  nations 
who  are  said  to  acknowledge  the  existence  of  a  Great 
Being,  who  is  the  Supreme  Euler  of  all  things,  but 
whom  they  think  it  would  be  presumptuous  for  them 
to  address ;  so  that  all  their  worship  is  reserved  for 
some  supposed  gods  of  a  lower  order. 

This  at  least  is  certain,  that  the  Apostle  Paul 
expressly  informs  us  (Romans  i.)  that  false  worship 
did  not  first  originate  among  men  from  their  knowing 
nothing,  and  having  no  means  of  knowing  anything, 
of  the  true  God,  and  being  left  entirely  to  their  own 
conjectures.  For  he  distinctly  declares,  that  some  at 
least,  "when  they  knew  God,  glorified  him  not  as 
God,"  and  "did  not  like  to  retain  God  in  their 
knowledge,  but  changed  the  truth  of  God  into  a  lie, 
and  worshipped  the  creature  more  than  the  Creator." 

It  is  very  probable  (and  this  seems  to  have  been 
the  apostle's  notion)  that  many  of  the  more  intelligent 
portion  of  mankind,  in  the  days  when  false  worship 
first  arose,  did  not  themselves  partake  of  the  supersti- 
tions of  the  weaker  and  more  ignorant,  but  encouraged 
those  superstitions  for  the  sake  of  gratifying  the  vul- 
gar, or  keeping  them  in  subjection  to  themselves,  by 
means  of  a  religion  suited,  as  they  thought,  to  unen- 
lightened and  feeble  minds.  Certain  it  is,  that  some 
dishonesty  of  this  kind  has  often  been  practised  in 
various  ages  and  countries,  and  under  various  religious 
systems.  Men  of  education  and  intelligence  have 
often  thought  themselves  justified  in  disguising,  or 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  59 

concealing,  or  altering  some  portion  of  what  tliey 
believed  to  be  religious  truth,  and  teaching  or  encou- 
raging the  vulgar  to  believe  something  diflPerent  from 
what  they  themselves  believed.  And  this  dishonest 
system  has  always  led,  in  the  end,  to  the  grossest  cor- 
ruptions, both  of  doctrine  and  of  morals. 

One  great  cause,  probably,  of  the  multiplication  of 
gods  among  the  Pagans,  was  the  use  of  images  or  pic- 
tures. When  men  had  introduced  the  practice  of 
making  some  kind  of  emblem,  intended  to  represent 
either  the  Supreme  God,  or  any  other  Being  they 
worshipped,  they  would  easily  be  led  to  pa^  more  and 
more  veneration  to  the  emblem  itself,  so  as  to  become 
what  is  properly  called  "  idolaters,"  that  is,  worship- 
pers of  an  image  or  picture.  And  it  would  often 
happen  that  one  set  of  men  would  venerate  one  image, 
and  others  another  somewhat  different,  though  origi- 
nally designed  to  represent  the  same  being.  And 
there  would  also  be  some  difference  in  the  kind  of 
worship  paid  to  each  of  these  images,  and  in  the  tales 
related  concerning  it ;  so  that  by  degrees  some  of 
them  would  come  to  be  considered  as  so  many  distinct 
gods. 

Thus  it  seems  to  have  been  a  matter  of  doubt 
whether  there  were  not  two  Jupiters ;  whether  there 
were  one,  or  two,  or  three  Mercuries ;  whether  the 
Moon,  and  Diana,  and  Hecate,  were  three  goddesses 
or  one  ;  and  the  like  in  many  other  instances.  And, 
probably,  this  was  one  reason  why  the  Israelites  were 
so  strictly  charged,  in  the  law  of  Moses,  to  worship, 
all   of  them  at  one  place,   "which  the  Lord  should 


60  RISE,    PROGRESS,   AND 

chuse  to  set  his  name  there,"  lest,  from  having  seve- 
ral different  temples,  that  barbarian  and  gross-minded 
people  should  come  to  imagine  there  were  several  gods. 

It  often  happened  that  different  tribes  of  men  wor- 
shipped either  different  gods,  or  the  same  under  some 
diiferent  emblem,  and  with  different  ceremonies. 
And  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  confusion 
which  is  recorded  as  having  occurred  at  Babel — after- 
wards called  Babylon — and  which  caused  the  disper- 
sion of  mankind  into  various  countries,  was  in  reality 
a  dispute  among  them  as  to  their  worship  of  some 
god  or  gods.  This,  at  least,  is  certain,  that  the 
scheme  mentioned  in  Gen.  xi.  was  something  displeas- 
ing to  God,  and  therefore  could  not  have  been  merely 
the  building  of  a  tower.  And  it  is  plain,  also,  from 
the  Bible  history,  that  some  ages  after  the  Flood 
mankind  had  very  generally  fallen  into  gross  idolatry, 
though  we  are  not  told  expressly  when  and  how  it 
was  introduced. 

As  for  the  Tower  of  Babel,  it  is  said  indeed  in  our 
version  that  a  number  of  persons  joined  together  to 
build  "  a  tower  whose  top  should  reach  to  heaven  " 
(our  translators  meant  an  exceeding  high  tower),  in 
order  that  they  might  not  be  "  scattered  over  the  face 
of  the  whole  earth ;"  and  that  God  sent  on  them  a 
confusion  of  language,  which  caused  them  to  "  cease 
building  the  tower,  and  scattered  them."  But  it  is  to 
be  observed  that  the  word  "  reach  "  is  supplied  by  our 
translators,  there  being  nothing  answering  to  it  in  the 
Original,  which  merely  says,  "  whose  top  to  the  hea- 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  61 

And  the  meaning  doubtless  is,  that  the  top  of  the 
tower  should  be  dedicated  to  the  Heavens — that  is,  that  a 
temple  should  be  built  on  it  to  Bel,  Belus,  Zeus,  or  Jupi- 
ter ;  under  which  titles  the  ancient  Pagans  worshipped 
the  heavens.  For  we  find  the  historian  Herodotus,* 
who  many  ages  after  visited  Babylon,  expressly 
declaring  that  there  was  there,  in  his  time,  a  very  high 
tower,  on  the  top  of  which  was  a  temple  to  Belus ; 
who,  he  says,  was  the  same  with  the  Zeus  of  the  Greeks. 

The  ancient  Pagans,  it  is  well  known,  were  accus- 
tomed to  erect  altars  to  the  Heavens,  or  to  the  Sun, 
on  "high  places"  (Numb,  xxxiii.  52),  on  the  loftiest 
mountains.  And  as  the  land  of  Shinar  is  a  very  fer- 
tile plain  of  vast  extent,  and  quite  level,  it  seems  to 
have  been  designed  to  make  a  sort  of  artificial  moun- 
tain on  it — that  is,  a  very  high  tower — and  to  build  a 
temple,  on  the  top  of  this,  to  their  god  Belus,  and  so 
establish  a  great  empire  consisting  of  people  worship- 
ping at  this  temple. 

The  "  confusion  "  which  God  sent  among  them,  and 
w^iich  caused  the  tower  to  be  less  lofty  than  originally 
designed,  and  dispersed  many  of  the  people  into  other 
lands,  was  most  likely  not  a  confusion  of  language^ 
but  a  dissension  about  religious  worship.  The  word 
in  the  original  literally  signifies  l{p.\     And  it  is  more 

*  Aids  B/)As  looii  ^a^K67iv\oVj  Kai  tj  £^£  rSro  crt  iov^  Svo  <JTa6iiov^  -navTri^ 
iov  TETf)ay<j)voi>'  iv  fiiaixt  6i  t5  ip3  nvpyos  arepeds  oUoionrtrai^  (ttuSiu  khI  to 
ItfjKOi  Kui  TO  evpoi'  Kai  eiri  tQtw  tu  niipyM  uAAoj  irvpyoi  tTrt/3e0riice,  Kal  trepoS 
HdXa  enl  rdurt.),  /i£;^pt  ov  dxrcj  nvpywv'  *  *  'Ev  61  rw  rcXcuraio)  iripyM 
vrios  CTTCcTt  niyai.  — HeRODOTUS,  Book  L  clxxxi. 

t  riBb  X^*'^''  (Septuagint). 


62  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

likely  that  it  was  used  to  signify  vjorship  than  lan- 
guage. A  dissension  as  to  that  which  was  the  very 
object  of  the  building,  would  much  more  effectually 
defeat  the  scheme  than  a  confusion  of  languages. 
For,  labourers  engaged  in  any  work,  and  speaking 
different  languages,  would  in  a  few  days,  learn,  by 
the  help  of  signs,  to  understand  one  another  sufii- 
ciently  to  enable  them  to  go  on  with  their  work. 
But  if  they  disagreed  as  to  the  very  object  proposed, 
this  would  effectually  break  up  the  community. 

As  for  the  different  languages  now  spoken  in  the 
world,  there  is  no  need  of  expLaining  that  by  any 
miraculous  interference.  For,  tribes  who  have  not  the 
use  of  letters,  and  have  but  little  mutual  intercourse, 
vary  so  much  from  each  other  in  their  language,  after 
even  a  few  generations,  as  not  to  be  able  at  all  to 
understand  each  other. 

But  v/hile,  as  was  remarked  before,  we  have  no 
express  accounts  of  the  first  origin  of  the  Pagan  reli- 
gions, this  at  least  is  certain,  that  it  was  not  even  pre- 
tended that  these  religions  rested  on  any  evidence 
worth  listening  to.  A  Pagan's  reason  for  holding  his 
religion  is,  and  always  was,  that  it  had  been  handed 
down  from  his  ancestors.  They  did  indeed  relate 
many  miracles,  said  to  have  been  wrought  through 
their  gods ;  but  almost  all  of  these  they  spoke  of  as 
having  been  wrought  among  people  who  were  already 
worshippers  of  those  gods,  not  as  having  been  the 
means  of  originally  bringing  in  the  religion.  And  all 
the  Pagan  miracles  were  believed  merely  because 
these   were   a   part  of  the  religion  which  they  had 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  63 

learned  from  their  fathers.  In  a  word,  the  religion 
did  not  rest  on  the  miracles,  but  the  miracles  rested 
on  the  religion. 

The  christian  religion  was  distinguished  from  these 
by  its  resting  on  evidence — bj  its  offering  a  reason, 
and  requiring  Christians  to  be  able  to  give  a  reason 
for  believinof  it. 


THE  MOSAIC  DISPENSATION. 

It  is  plain  from  Scripture  history,  that  both  before 
the  Flood  and  afterwards,  God  did,  from  time  to  time, 
hold  communication  in  some  way  or  other,  with  man- 
kind— that  is,  with  such  as  continued  faithful  wor- 
shippers of  Him. 

To  Noah,  in  particular,  we  find  Him  giving  com- 
mandments both  before  the  Flood  and  immediately 
after  it,  and  accepting  sacrifice  from  him.  In  a  later 
age  we  read  of  divine  commands  issued  to  Abraham, 
and  promises  made  to  him  of  peculiar  blessings  to  a 
nation  which  should  descend  from  him  throui^cli  Isaac : 
and  also  of  an  extension  of  blessings  to  all  mankind 
through  them — that  "  in  his  seed  should  all  the  nations 
of  the  earth  be  blessed."     (Gen.  xii.,  xxii.) 

And  although  idolatry  and  gross  wickedness  seem, 
in  Abraham's  time,  and  afterwards,  to  have  over- 
spread most  parts  of  the  world,  still  there  were  some 


6i  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

besides  him  and  his  flimilj,  who  retained  the  worship 
of  the  true  God.  For,  in  the  history  of  Abraham  we 
find  mention  of  Melchizedek,  a  king,  who  held  also 
the  office  of  "  a  priest  of  the  Most  High  God."  (Gen. 
xiv.) 

Jethro,  again,  the  father-in-law  of  Moses,  appears  to 
have  been  a  worshipper  of  the  true  God;  and  the 
prophet  Balaam,  though  a  wicked  man,  is  spoken  of 
as  a  real  prophet  of  the  Lord. 

It  is  probable,  also,  that  some  of  the  Egyptians 
were  worshippers  of  the  Lord,  though  so  many  of 
that  nation  had  fallen  into  idolatry.  For  we  read  of 
Joseph's  marrying  the  daughter  of  an  Egyptian  priest 
(Gen.  xli.),  and  though  possible,  it  does  not  seem 
likely,  that  so  eminently  pious  a  man  would  have 
married  the  daughter  of  an  idolatrous  priest.  This, 
at  least,  is  certain,  that  the  historian  Plutarch  speaks 
of  a  certain  portion  of  the  land  of  Egypt  which  was 
exempted  from  the  tax  levied  on  the  rest  for  the  sup- 
port of  idolatrous  worship.  And  this,  he  says,  was 
on  account  of  their  being  worshippers  only  of  ONE, 
whom  they  called  Cneph,  "the  unbegotten  God."* 
And  the  plagues  inflicted  on  Egypt  by  the  Lord  God 
of  Israel,f  the  complete  dominion  He  displayed  over 
the  Beings  the  idolaters  worshipped,  must,  no  doubt, 
have  brought  some  of  the  Egyptians  to  acknowledge 
and  worship  Him.    (Exod.  ix.)     But  we  are  told  very 

*  'Ayti/j/flroz'  wra  Kal  dQai/aTov.  They  Were  the  inhabitants  of 
Thebais. — Plutarch,  Be  Mde  et  Osiride. 

\  "On  all  the  gods  of  Egypt  will  I  execute  judgment." — (Exod. 
xiL  12.) 


CORRUPTIONS   OF    CHRISTIANITY.  65 

few  particulars  of  the  faith  or  the  worship*  of  the 
servants  of  the  true  God,  till  we  come  to  the  time 
when  Moses,  by  divine  command,  delivered  to  the 
"  chosen"  (elect)  "  people  of  Israel"  that  system  of 
religion  which  is  called  ''  The  LAW." 

Of  this — the  Mosaic  law — we  find  a  full  account  in 
the  last  four  Books  of  Moses.  And  these  should  be 
carefully*  studied  by  any  one  who  would  gain  as 
accurate  an  understanding  as  possible  of  the  system 
under  which  that  most  remarkable  nation,  the  Israel- 
ites, were  placed. 

For  our  present  purpose,  it  will  be  sufficient  to  mark 
out  the  most  important  points  which  distinguished  the 
Mosaic  Dispensation — the  religion  of  the  Israelites — 
from  what  came  before  it,  and  from  what  followed  it; 
on  the  one  hand,  from  the  religion  of  those  worshippers 
of  the  true  God  who  lived  before  the  time  of  Moses, 
and  on  the  other  hand,  from  the  Gospel-Dispensation 
— the  religious  sj^stem  under  which  ive  are  placed. 

The  Law  was  designed  to  prepare  the  way  for 
Christianity — a  religion  intended  for  all  mankind — 
according  to  the  promise  made  to  Abraham,  that  some 

*  It  is  the  opinion  of  many  learned  men  that  it  was  the  practice  of 
the  servants  of  the  true  God,  in  the  earhest  times,  to  keep  holy  the 
last  day  of  the  week  [Saturday]  in  memory  of  the  close  of  the  work  of 
creation.  And  this  seems  probaVjle,  though  no  such  practice  is 
expressly  recorded.  But  their  inode  of  observing  the  day  could  hardly 
have  been  altogetlier  the  same  with  what  was  enjoined  to  tlie  Israelites. 
To  these  the  Sabbath  seems  to  have  been,  in  the  particulars  of  the 
observance,  a  new  and  a  peculiar  institution.  And  accordingly  we 
find,  in  the  Prophecy  of  Ezekiel,  the  Lord  saying,  "  I  gave  them  [the 
Israelites]  my  Sabbaths,  to  be  a  sign  between  me  and  them." 


66 


person  or  persons  descended  from  liim  should  prove 
a  blessing  to  all  nations.  Yet  the  Law  itself  was 
given  to  one  people  alone.  And  accordingly,  when 
the  Apostles  of  Jesus  Christ,  who  were  themselves 
Jews,  converted  vast  multitudes  of  Gentiles  to  Chris- 
tianity, teaching  them,  among  other  things,  to  acknow- 
ledge the  divine  origin  of  the  Mosaic  Law,  they  yet 
taught  them  that  the  ordinances  of  that  law  did  not 
extend  to  Gentiles.*  (Gal.  v.) 

It  is  to  be  remembered,  however,  that  before  the 
Gospel  revelation,  a  Gentile  was  allowed,  if  he  wished 
it,  to  become  a  proselj^te ;  and  thenceforth  he  was  not 
regarded  as  "unclean"  (Acts  x.),  and  an  "alien" 
(Eph.  ii.  11,  12),  but  only  as  ranking  next  below  the 
Israelites  by  birth. 

And,  moreover.  Gentiles  who,  though  they  had 
renounced  idolatry,  yet  did  not  conform  to  the  whole 
Law,  but  only  to  a  certain  small  number  of  regula- 
tions, were  admitted  to  worship  in  the  outer  court  of 
the  Temple  ("the  court  of  the  Gentiles,"  1  Kings  viii. 
41),  and  to  attend  divine  service  in  the  synagogues. 
These  Gentiles  are  often  alluded  to  in  the  Book  of 
Acts  (Acts  x.  2  ;  xiii.  16,  26,  43  ;  xvi.  14 ;  xvii.  4,  17), 
under  the  title  of  "  the  devout, "f  or  "  they  who  feared 
God  "J  (that  is,  the  Lord  Jehovah),  such  as  was  Cor- 
nelius the  centurion.     And  after  the  time  of  the  Cap- 

*  "  Let  no  man  judge  you  "  (says  the  Apostle  Paul,  when  writinjj 
to  the  Gentiles),  "  in  meat  or  in  drink,  or  in  respect  of  an  holydaj^,  or 
of  the  new  moon,  or  of  the  sabbath-days,  which  are  a  shadow  of  things 
to  come;  but  the  body  is  of  Christ." — (Col,  ii.  16.) 

■j-   01  ae/Sojjtcvi,  X   oj  Ixjliuijievoi  rov  Qcov, 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  67 

tivity,  there  were,  in  various  countries,  many  Jews 
residing  dispersed  among  the  Gentiles;*  and  these 
Gentiles  had  thus  an  opportunity  of  learning  (as  a 
considerable  number  of  them  did  learn)  to  know  and 
to  serve  the  true  god.  But  those  Gentiles  who  had 
no  Jews  resideut  among  them  had  no  such  opportu- 
nity. 

Why  it  was  that  the  Most  High  thought  fit  to 
make  a  revelation  to  this  one  people,  and  not  at  once 
to  all  the  world,  we  cannot  explain,  and  must  not 
presume  to  decide.  Indeed,  we  cannot  explain  why 
the  Gospel  was  not  preached  to  the  very  first  genera- 
tion of  mankind ;  and  why  Jesus  Christ  came  into  the 
world  just  when  He  did;  nor  yet  why  many  nations, 
in  various  parts  of  the  world,  have  been  left,  even  to 
this  day,  in  the  darkness  of  idolatrous  superstition ; 
or  indeed,  why  any  such  thing  as  EVIL  should  exist 
at  all. 

All  this,  we  must  conclude,  would  have  been 
explained  to  us  in  Scripture,  if  it  had  been  necessary 
for  us  to  understand  it.  As  it  is,  any  attempt  to 
explain  these  things  is  fruitless  and  presumptuous. 
It  is  our  business  to  inquire,  not  what  lue  should  have 
done,  had  the  regulation  of  things  been  left  to  us,  but 
what  God  has  actually  done,  and  what  He  requires  us 
to  do. 

We  have  the  most  satisfactory  reasons  for  believing 
that  the  Law  of  Moses  was  given  by  divine  command ; 


*  These  are  called  "the  Jews  of  the  Dispersion"  (see  the  beginning 
of  the  Epistle  of  James);  or  simply  "the  Dispersion," 


RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

and  also  that  it  was  given  to  the  one  nation  of  Israel, 
and  not  designed  for  the  rest  of  mankind. 

One  of  the  many  marks  one  may  perceive  of  this 
design  is,  that  it  was  a  local  religion.  The  Israelites 
were  directed  to  offer  sacrifices,  and  to  worship  three 
times  a-year,  at  the  one  "place  which  the  Lord  should 
chuse  to  set  his  name  there"  (that  is,  to  place  there 
the  manifestation  of  his  presence  and  power);  and 
they  were  strictly  forbidden  to  sacrifice  anywhere  else. 
(Deut.  xii.  13.)  And  accordingly,  when  the  Temple 
at  Jerusalem  had  been  finally  fixed  on  as  the  chosen 
place,  the  destruction  of  that  Temple  made  it  thence- 
forth impossible  for  an  Israelite  to  keep  up  the  chief 
ordinances  of  his  religion. 

Hence  the  final  destruction  of  that  Temple  abolished, 
manifestly  and  totally,  the  Mosaic  system  of  religion. 

And  it  is  very  remarkable  that  that  religion  is 
almost  the  only  one  that  could  have  been  abolished 
against  the  will  of  the  people  themselves,  and  while 
they  resolved  firmly  to  maintain  it.  Their  religion, 
and  theirs  only,  could  be,  and  has  been,  thus  abolished 
in  spite  of  their  firm  attachment  to  it,  on  account  of 
its  being  dependent  on  a  particular  i^lace.  The  chris- 
tian religion,  or  again,  any  of  the  Pagan  religions, 
could  not  be  abolished  by  any  force  of  enemies,  if  the 
persons  professing  the  religion  were  sincere  and  reso- 
lute in  keeping  to  it.  To  destroy  a  christian  place  of 
worship,  or  to  turn  it  into  a  Mohammedan  mosque  (as 
was  done  in  many  instances  by  the  Turks),  would  not 
prevent  the  exercise  of  the  christian  religion.  And 
even  if  Christianity  were  forbidden  by  law,  and  Chris- 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  69 

tians  persecuted  (as  has  in  times  past  been  so  frequently 
done),  still  they  might  assemble  secretly  in  woods  or 
caves,  or  they  might  fly  to  foreign  countries  to  wor- 
ship God,  according  to  their  own  faith ;  and  Chris- 
tianity, though  it  might  be  driven  out  of  one  country, 
would  still  exist  in  others. 

1  the  same  may  be  said  of  the  Pagan  religions. 
If  it  happened  that  any  temple  of  Jupiter,  or  Diana, 
or  Woden,  were  destroyed,  this  would  not  hinder  the 
worshippers  of  those  gods  from  continuing  to  worship 
them  as  before,  and  from  offering  sacrifices  to  them 
elsewhere. 

But  it  was  not  so  with  the  Jews.  Their  religion 
was  so  framed  as  to  make  the  observance  of  its  ordi- 
nances impossible,  when  their  Temple  was  finally 
destroyed.  It  seems  to  have  been  designed  and  con- 
trived by  divine  providence,  that  as  their  law  was  to 
be  brought  to  an  end  by  the  Gospel  (for  which  it  was 
a  preparation),  so,  all  men  were  to  perceive  that  it  did 
come  to  an  end,  notwithstanding  the  obstinate  rejec- 
tion of  the  Gospel  by  the  greater  part  of  the  Jews. 
It  was  not  left  to  be  a  question  and  a  matter  of  opinion^ 
whether  the  sacrifices  instituted  by  Moses  were  to  be 
continued  or  not ;  but  things  were  so  ordered  as  to 
put  it  out  of  man's  power  to  continue  them. 

But,  moreover,  this  local  character  of  the  religion 
shewed,  from  the  very  first,  that  it  could  not  be 
designed  for  all  mankind. 

And  the  same  thing  is  indicated  by  the  way  in 
which  all  the  laws  are  expressed.  For  it  is  remark- 
able that  even  those  duties  which,  from  their  very 


70  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

nature,  must  be  duties  for  all  men,  such  as  to  worship 
the  one  true  Grod  only,  and  to  honour  one's  parents, 
— even  these  are  enjoined  to  the  Israelites  in  com- 
mandments which  expressly  refer  to  that  one  peculiar 
people.  "  I  am  the  Lord  thy  God,  who  brought  thee 
out  of  the  land  of  Egypt ;  thou  shalt  have  none  other 
gods  but  Me;"  and  "Honour  thy  father  and  thy 
mother ;  that  thy  days  may  be  long  in  the  land  ivhich 
the  Lord  thy  God  giveth  theej^ — that  is,  the  land  of 
Canaan. 

Of  course  Christians  are  bound  to  practise  these 
and  all  other  moral  duties.  But  that  is  because  they 
are  in  themselves  moral  duties ;  not  because  they  are 
enjoined  in  the  Law  of  Moses ;  which  was  designed 
for  the  one  people  of  Israel. 

Other  commandments  there  were,  relating  to  mat- 
ters originally  indifferent,  but  respecting  which  God 
laid  down  certain  rules;  and  required  the  Israelites 
to  comply  with  those  rules  in  submission  to  his 
will. 

Some  of  these  commandments  related  to  religious 
ceremonies  or  observances,  such  as  the  keeping  of  the 
Feast  of  the  Passover — coming  up  to  the  temple  at 
Jerusalem  three  times  a-year — abstaining  from  certain 
meats,  and  wearing  certain  peculiar  garments;  with 
other  things  of  that  kind.  These  are  commonly 
called  ceremonial  laws. 

And,  again,  there  were  other  commandments  called 
civil  laws ;  being  such  as  relate  to  matters  which  the 
civil  governors  of  any  country  have  a  right  to  regu- 
late, from  time  to  time,  as  they  think  best ;  and  to 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  71 

enforce  by  penalties,  such  as  imprisonment,  banish- 
ment, or  death. 

For,  the  Lord  was  not  only  the  Qod,  but  also  the 
King  (or  civil  governor)  of  this  peculiar  people  ;  and 
enacted  all  such  laws  for  their  good  government  as 
the  rulers  of  any  other  nation  are  authorized  to  enact 
and  enforce,  and  to  annul  or  alter  whenever  they  see 
fit. 

Of  this  kind  was  the  law  that  no  man  should  part 
with  his  landed  property  finally,  but  that,  if  sold,  it 
should  return  to  him,  or  his  heirs,  at  the  jubilee ;  and 
that  which  directed  that  a  man  should  marry  his 
brother's  widow  if  his  brother  died  childless  (Deut. 
XXV.  5,  and  Luke  xx.  29),  with  many  other  such 
laws. 

Now,  the  ceremonial  and  the  civil  laws  being  such 
as  relate  to  matters  in  themselves  indificrent,  are 
what  are  commonly  called  ^''positive  precepts :"  those 
relating  to  points  of  natural  duty  being  called  "moral 
precepts."  And  it  is  very  important  to  keep  in  mind 
the  distinction  between  these  two  classes  of  laws. 
Any  thing  enjoined  by  a  positive  precept  is  rigid 
because  it  is  commanded:  any  thing  enjoined  by  a 
moral  precept  is  commanded  because  it  is  right. 

Thus  it  was,  to  the  Israelites,  a  duty  to  keep  the 
Passover,  as  it  is  to  Christians  to  celebrate  the  Lord's 
Supper;  because  divine  commands  to  do  so  were 
given,  and  it  is  a  moral  duty  to  obey  divine  com- 
mands. But  there  was  no  such  duty  before  those 
express  commands  were  given. 

On  the  other  hand,  to  honour  one's  parents  is,  from 


72  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

the  nature  of  the  case,  a  duty  of  all  men ;  and  tbe 
Israelites  were  commanded  to  do  so,  because  it  is  right 
in  itself. 

Again,  to  abstain  from  all  worship  of  false  gods,  or 
of  images,  and  to  reverence  the  true  God,  is  a  natural 
duty^  and  was  enjoined  to  the  Israelites  because  it  is 
so.  But  no  one  would  say  that  it  is  a  natural  duty  to 
keep  holy  one  day  in  seven,  rather  than  one  in  six, 
or  in  eight ;  or  to  keep  holy  the  last  day  of  the  week, 
rather  than  the  first,  or  any  other ;  or  to  abstain  from 
kindling  a  fire  (Exod.  xxxv.  8)  on  that  day.  But  all 
this  became  a  duty  to  the  Israelites  when  they  had 
received  a  divine  command  to  observe  in  that  parti- 
cular manner  that  particular  day ;  and  so  with  other 
commandments. 

Again,  the  Mosaic  Law  was  distinguished  from 
every  other  revelation  ever  bestowed  on  man,  by  the 
great  number  and  minuteness  of  its  regulations,  and 
the  multitude  of  its  ceremonial  observances.  It  gives 
exact  directions  to  the  Israelites  as  to  their  diet,  their 
dress,  and  their  mode  of  life  in  many  particulars. 

One  purpose  answered  by  these  numerous  ordi- 
nances, was  to  keep  them  quite  distinct  from  other 
nations ;  that  they  might  be  the  better  preserved  from 
falling  into  the  idolatrous  worship  of  their  neighbours, 
and  might  be  marked  out,  both  to  them  and  to  them- 
selves, as  the  Lord's  peculiar  people. 

And  moreover,  it  was  needful  for  a  half-barbarian 
and  gross-minded  people,  such  as  the  ancient  Israelites, 
to  keep  up  in  tlicir  minds  the  thought  of  their  reli- 
gion, by  a  great  number  of  outward  ceremonies  and 


CORRUPTIONS  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  73 

observances.  These  served  to  remind  an  Israelite 
continually  of  the  God  whose  servant  he  was,  by  his 
being  required  from  day  to  day  to  observe  certain 
rules,  and  to  perform  certain  acts,  as  a  sign  of  his 
obedience  to  the  Lord,  and  as  a  part  of  his  religious 
duty. 

And  a  great  part  of  the  ceremonies  of  this  law  had 
also  a  typical  meaning.  In  particular,  the  Passover, 
and  all  the  other  sacrifices  of  animals,  were  types 
representing  the  sacrifice  of  Christ  on  the  cross  for 
man's  redemption.  And,  accordingly,  we  find  the 
Apostle  Paul  expressly  calling  Him  "our  passover, 
who  is  sacrificed  for  us."  (1  Cor.  v.  7.)  For  as  the 
blood  of  the  first  paschal-lamb  sprinkled  on  the  door- 
posts of  the  Israelites  in  Egypt  (Exod.  xii.  7)  was  to 
preserve  their  first-born  from  the  destroying  angel 
which  slew  the  Egyptians,  so  the  sacrifice  of  Jesus 
Christ  brings  eternal  deliverance  and  salvation  to 
those  who  will  be  truly  his  disciples.  And  He  is 
thence  called  in  Scripture,  "The  Lamb  of  God,  who 
taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world." 

And  throughout  the  New  Testament,  there  are 
numerous  references  to  the  sacrifices  and  other  cere- 
monial ordinances  of  the  law,  as  types  representing 
the  redemption  by  Christ,  and  foreshewing  the  Gospel 
dispensation. 

But  all  this  was  not  understood,  nor  designed  to  be 
understood,  by  the  Israelites  to  whom  Moses  delivered 
the  Law.  They  were  only  required  to  observe 
strictly  and  carefully  the  directions  given,  without 
understanding  the  full  meaning  of  all  that  was  or- 

4 


74  KISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

dained.  The  Law  of  Moses,  therefore,  was  like  some 
important  document  written  in  cypher,  or  in  an  un- 
known language ;  which  a  man  is  directed  to  preserve 
very  carefully  till  such  time  as  he  shall  be  furnished 
with  a  key  to  the  cypher,  or  a  translation.  Just  so, 
the  Gospel,  when  it  was  revealed,  furnished  an 
interpretation  of  many  things  in  the  Mosaic  Law, 
which  had  been  before  unintelligible  as  to  their 
inward  meaning. 

And  this  is  what  the  Apostles  mean  when  they 
speak  of  '■''making  hnoivn  the  mystery  of  the  Gospel." 
For  "mystery"  signifies,  in  their  use  of  the  word, 
something  that  has  been  concealed,  and  is  afterwards 
revealed  and  explained.     (Eph.  vi.  19.) 

Another  distinguishing  character  of  the  Mosaic 
Law  was,  that  it  was  enforced  by  a  system  of  temporal 
rewards  and  judgments^  administered  according  to  an 
extraordinary  providence. 

The  Israelites  were  promised,  as  the  reward  of 
obedience,  long  life,  and  health,  and  plentiful  harvests, 
and  victory  over  their  enemies.  And  the  punishments 
threatened  for  disobedience,  were  pestilence,  famine, 
defeat,  and  all  kinds  of  temporal  calamity.  (Deut. 
xxviii.) 

And  the  history  of  this  most  remarkable  people  is 
full  of  examples  of  the  fulfilment  of  these  promises 
and  threats. 

In  the  Books  of  Moses  himself,  and  the  historical 
books  that  follow,  we  find  abundant  instances  of  both 
kinds  recorded.     The   Lord  (Jehovah)  was,  as  has 


CORRUPTIONS  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  75 

been  remarked  above,  not  only  the  God,  but  also  the 
King  (or  civil  governor)  of  this  peculiar  people. 
And  hence  the  word  "Theocracy"  is  often  applied  to 
the  system  under  which  the  Israelites  lived.  Hence, 
too,  it  was,  that  among  them  the  worship  of  other 
gods  was  made  a  capital  crime  ;  because,  under  such  a 
system,  it  amounted,  in  fact,  to  high  treason.  (Deut. 
xvii.  2.)  For,  it  is  to  be  remembered,  that  the 
Pagans  regarded  their  gods  as  their  temporal  rulers ; 
looking  to  them  for  victory  and  success  of  all  kinds, 
consulting  them,  and  acting  on  their  supposed  direc- 
tions. The  ideas  of  tutelar  god,  and  king^  were  so 
blended  in  the  minds  both  of  the  Pagans  and  tlie 
Israelites,  that  an  Israelite  could  not  worship  Baal  or 
Moloch,  without  so  far  withdrawing  his  allegiance 
from  Jehovah  his  king.  And  even  when  they  were 
ruled  by  judges,  or  by  kings,  they  were  under  this 
theocracy;  these  rulers  being  considered  as  merely 
agents  or  deputies  of  the  Lord  their  King,  and  ap- 
pointed or  removed  by  Him.  He  issued  direct  com- 
mands, from  time  to  time,  to  the  nation,  or  their 
governors,  as  to  various  temporal  concerns,  such  as 
are  regulated  by  the  supreme  rulers  of  each  state. 
(1  Sam.  XV.) 

And  as  all  rulers  enforce  their  commands  by  tem- 
poral penalties  on  the  disobedient,  such  as  forfeiture 
of  goods,  bodily  chastisement,  or  death,  so  the  Lord 
enforced  on  the  Israelites  obedience  to  his  commands 
by  temporal  rewards  and  punishments,  distributed 
according  to  an  extraordinary  providence. 

It  appears  to  have  been  designed  in  that  dispensation 


76  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

to  exhibit  to  mankind  a  sensible  specimen,  or  rather 
representation^  by  way  of  proof,  of  that  moral  govern- 
ment of  (rod,  the  system  of  which  is  but  imperfectly 
displayed  in  the  world  at  large ;  and  which  is  to  be 
completed,  and  fully  realised,  only  in  a  future  state. 

It  would  be  inconsistent  with  the  present  occasion 
to  enter  into  a  full  explanation  and  defence  of  this 
hypothesis:  let  it  be  allowed,  however,  to  adopt  for 
the  present,  the  supposition,  merely  as  a  supposition^ 
that  the  Mosaic  dispensation  was,  in  part,  designed 
for  the  purpose  just  mentioned ;  that  we  may  examine 
how  far  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  that  dispensa- 
tion correspond  with  and  are  explained  by  it.  It 
would  manifestly  be  necessary,  then,  with  a  view  to 
the  object  in  question,  that  the  Israelites  should  be 
exhibited  as  uniformly  and  regularly  rewarded  or  pun- 
ished, according  to  their  obedience  or  disobedience  to 
the  divine  commands.  And  moreover,  in  order  that 
the  correspondence  of  their  situation  with  their  con- 
duct might  be  more  conspicuously  displayed,  it  was 
necessary  that  they  should  be  nationally  as  well  as 
individually,  prosperous  or  unfortunate,  in  conse- 
quence of  their  good  or  ill  conduct ;  since  the  fate  of 
individuals  would  have  been  too  obscure  to  engage 
general  attention.  It  was  requisite,  for  the  same  rea- 
son, that  the  obedience  required  of  them  should  not 
consist  in  moral  rectitude  alone ;  because  in  that  case 
the  correspondence  of  their  circumstances  to  their 
behaviour  would  not  have  been  sufficiently  manifest. 
For  moral  virtue  consists,  chiefly,  in  purity  of  motives, 
and  propriety  of  inward  feelings ;  concerning  which 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  77 

other  men  cannot  with  any  certainty  form  a  judgment. 
It  was  requisite,  therefore,  that  their  obedience  should 
be  tried  in  the  practice  of  external  rites,  and  in  a  con- 
formity to  certain  ^05^7^t'e  ordinances.  For  these 
observances,  though  originally  matters  of  indifference, 
yet,  as  we  have  before  observed,  assume  a  moral  cha- 
racter, and  become  duties,  when  enjoined  by  divine 
authority ;  and  the  obedience  or  disobedience  of  a 
people  on  such  points,  is  a  matter  open  to  general 
observation,  and  on  which  no  one  would  be  liable  to 
mistake. 

Lastly,  with  the  same  view,  it  was  no  less  requisite 
that  the  rewards  and  pimishments  also,  which  should 
be  the  sanction  of  such  a  law,  should  be  of  a  nature 
no  less  palpable  and  open  to  general  observation  ;  and 
should  therefore  not  consist  in  anything  inward  and 
invisible,  as  in  peace  of  mind,  and  in  horrors  of  con- 
science ;  nor  in  the  hopes  and  fears  of  a  future  state  ; 
but  in  the  immediate  and  conspicuous  distribution  of 
outward  worldly  prosperity  and  adversity. 

The  close  correspondence,  in  all  points,  of  the  dis- 
pensation actually  given,  with  the  foregoing  descrip- 
tion, is  no  slight  presumption  that  the  object  of  that 
dispensation  was,  in  part  at  least,  such  as  we  have 
supposed, — viz.,  to  exhibit  to  mankind  (that  is,  to 
those  who  should  be  in  early  times  neighbours  to  the 
Israelites,  or  have  any  intercourse  with  them,  and 
subsequently  to  us,  and  to  all  others  who  should  read 
their  history,  and  view  their  present  fate) ;  to  exhibit, 
we  say,  a  striking  picture  of  God's  moral  government, 
— to  convince  all  men  of  his  superintending  provi- 


78  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

dence, — and  to  instruct  them  in  the  principles  of  jus- 
tice, by  which  his  dealings  with,  them  will  be  regu- 
lated. 

We  must,  however,  carefully  keep  in  mind  the  dis- 
tinction between  an  extraordinary  providence,  such  as 
that  under  which  the  Israelites  were  placed,  and  the 
ordinary  divine  providence  by  which  the  world  gene- 
rally is  governed,  and  which  is  sometimes  called  the 
"  course  of  Nature." 

God  has  appointed  that,  as  a  general  rule,  though 
not  an  invariable  one,  good  conduct  shall  lead,  on  the 
whole,  to  temporal  success  and  welfare,  and  ill  con- 
duct to  misfortunes  of  various  kinds.  Thus,  the  gene- 
ral tendency  of  industry  and  frugality  is  to  lead  to 
prosperity ;  and  of  idleness,  improvidence,  and  extra- 
vagance, to  poverty  and  distress.  Temperance  con- 
duces, on  the  whole,  to  health,  and  intemperance 
usually  brings  on  disease  and  death.  The  quarrel- 
some, the  hard-hearted,  and  the  unjust,  are  likely  to 
be  hated  or  despised ;  while  gentleness  and  kindness 
tend,  in  general,  to  procure  a  man  the  good-will  of 
his  neighbours ;  and  (according  to  the  proverb)  in  the 
long  run,  '^  honesty  is  the  best  policy." 

Accordingly,  in  the  ordinary  course  of  events,  we 
are  generally  able  to  trace  men's  good  or  ill  success  in 
life,  to  their  good  or  ill  conduct.  For  instance,  when 
a  man  who  has  lived  a  life  of  sensuality  and  extrava- 
gance is  ruined  in  health  and  in  fortune,  we  can  per- 
ceive the  connection  between  his  misery  and  the  vice 
and  folly  that  have  naturally  caused  it.  Or  again,  if 
an   honest,  industrious,  and  prudent  man  becomes 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  79 

rich,  we  say  that  this  is  according  to  the  natural  course 
of  things.  And  so  in  other  such  cases.  We  do  not 
mean,  when  we  speak  thus,  that  the  "  natural  course 
of  things  "  is  7iot  regulated  by  divine  providence,  but 
merely  that  such  is  the  ordinary^  established,  and 
regular  course  of  God's  government  of  the  universe. 

On  the  other  hand,  when  any  occurrence  is  spoken 
of  as  "  supernatural  "  (or  "  miraculous  "),  although  the 
word  "  providential  "  is  sometimes  applied  in  the  same 
sense,  any  one  who  believes  that  God  is  the  supreme 
disposer  of  all  events,  cannot  mean  that  such  an  occur- 
rence is  more  providential  than  others,  but  merely  that 
it  belongs  to  God's  extraordinary  providence. 

And  in  any  such  case  we  can  trace  no  connection 
between  the  sin  and  the  punishment,  or  between  the 
good  conduct  and  the  reward,  except  so  far  as  we 
learn  it  from  express  revelation.  For  instance,  when 
Korah  (Numb,  xvi.)  and  his  company  were  swallowed 
up  by  an  earthquake,  as  a  punishment  for  having 
"provoked  the  Lord,"  we  know  that  this  was  a  judg- 
ment on  them  for  that  sin,  solely  because  Moses,  by 
divine  command,  expressly  declared  the  sin,  and/o?'e- 
told  the  punishment. 

And  again,  when  the  Israelites  were  defeated  before 
Ai,  as  a  judgment  for  the  transgression  of  one  of  them 
(Josh,  vii.),  and  when  the  land  of  the  ten  tribes  was 
burnt  up  with  drought,  in  the  days  of  Ahab,  as  a 
punishment  for  their  idolatry  (1  Kings  xvii.),  we  can 
trace  no  natural  connection  between  the  sin  and  the 
consequences  of  it ;  and  we  know  this  connection  only 
because  we  are  expressl3^  told  it  in  Holy  Scripture. 


80  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

Would  it  not,  then,  be  in  the  highest  degree  pre- 
sumptuous for  any  one  of  us,  uninspired  men,  to  pro- 
nounce judgment  on  those  who  are  cut  off  by  sudden 
death,  or  who  are  visited  by  such  calamities  as  an 
earthquake,  a  famine,  or  a  pestilence  ?  Shall  we  take 
upon  ourselves  to  declare  the  counsels  of  the  Most 
High,  when  He  has  not  revealed  them  ?  and,  in  defi- 
ance of  our  Master's  express  warning,  proclaim  that 
these  men  were  sinners  above  those  who  have  escaped 
such  a  fate  ? 

And  yet  some  persons  do  occasionally  presume, 
without  any  commission  from  Heaven,  to  pass  judg- 
ment on  their  neighbours,  and  to  declare  that  such  and 
such  a  calamity  is  a  mark  of  divine  displeasure,  and 
a  punishment  for  such  and  such  a  sin. 

Such  men  are  like  the  false  prophets  of  old — their 
language  is,  "Thus  saith  the  Lord,  when  the  Lord 
hath  not  spoken."  Whatever  high  pretensions  they 
may  make,  it  is  not  piety,  but  daring  mpiety,  thus  to 
mimic  the  voice  of  God's  inspired  messengers,  and  to 
come  forward,  without  any  divine  commission,  setting 
forth  their  own  fancies  as  revelations  from  Heaven. 
It  is  not  wisdom  from  above,  but  gross  ignorance  of 
both  the  volumes  which  the  same  divine  Author  has 
opened  for  oar  instruction — the  volume  of  Nature^ 
and  the  volume  of  Revelation^ — that  leads  men  thus  to 
confound  the  ordinary  and  the  extraordinary  dispen- 
sations of  his  Providence.  Some  design,  no  doubt, 
the  Allwise  Governor  of  the  world  must  have,  in  all 
his  dispensations,  whether  of  sorrow  or  of  joy.  He 
sends   want,   and  He   sends   abundance, — He   allots 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  81 


affliction,  and  temporal  deliverance  and  prosperity, 
not  at  random,  but  according  to  some  fitness  which 
He  perceives  in  the  respective  parties,  to  be  the  reci- 
pients of  these  dispensations. 

The  hardships  undergone  by  the  Apostles,  they 
were  exposed  to,  we  may  be  assured,  for  some  good 
reason  ;  and  so  also,  health,  plenty,  and  every  kind  of 
temporal  success,  are  doubtless  bestowed  with  some 
wise  design  on  those  who  obtain  such  advantages.  But 
when  He  has  not  thought  fit  to  reveal  whai  his 
designs  are,  it  is  not  for  us,  shortsighted  mortals,  to 
pronounce  upon  them,  and  presumptuously  to  usurp 
the  office  of  his  prophets.  "  Wherefore  judge  nothing," 
says  the  Apostle,  "before  the  time,  until  the  Lord 
come,  who  will  bring  to  light  the  hidden  things  of 
darkness,  and  will  make  manifest  the  counsels  of  the 
hearts !  and  then  shall  every  man  have  [his]  praise* 
of  God." 

The  notion,  however,  that  calamity  is  necessarily  a 
token  of  the  divine  displeasure,  was  one  which  the 
Jews  very  much  clung  to — and  very  naturally ;  inas- 
much as  that  particular  nation  had  been  originally 
placed  under  such  a  system  of  temporal  rewards  and 
punishments.  They  found  it  hard  to  believe,  there- 
fore, in  the  change  of  that  system,  when  the  Gospel 
was  preached.  And  accordingly,  the  sufferings  and 
death  undergone  by  Jesus  and  many  of  his  disciples, 
formed  the  chief  stumbling-block  to  the  Jews  (1  Cor. 
i.  23),  most  of  whom  would  not  believe  that  He  could 

*  6  Izaivos :  viz.,  whatever  he  is  justly  entitled  to.  The  Greek  arti- 
cle has  the  force  of  our  pronoun. 

4* 


82  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

be  the  true  Christ,  or  a  favoured  servant  of  God; 
because  they  regarded  His  sufferings  as  a  proof  of  the 
divine  o?wfavour. 

And  their  objection  to  Him,  on  this  very  ground,  was 
accordingly  foretold  by  the  Prophet  Isaiah  (Isa.  liii.) : 
"  a  man  of  sorrows  and  acquainted  with  grief;  and  we 
hid,  as  it  were,  our  faces  from  Him :"  "  we  did  esteem 
Him  stricken,  smitten  of  God  and  afflicted,"  &c.  &c. 

It  seems  strange  to  us  that  so  many  of  the  Jews 
should  refuse  to  be  convinced  by  such  prophecies  as 
this.  But  it  is  much  more  strange  that  there  should  be 
some  Christians,  who,  though  professed  followers  of  a 
Master  who  was  crucified,  still  persist  in  regarding 
temporal  calamities  as  a  proof  of  the  divine  displea- 
sure against  those  who  are  so  visited ;  and  that  there 
should  be  Christians  who  presume,  against  their  great 
Master's  express  prohibition,  to  declare  what  the  sins 
are  that  have  called  down  on  their  neighbours  such 
calamities. 

Some  persons,  however,  there  are,  who  carelessly 
use  the  words  "providential"  and  "miraculous," 
merely  to  denote  any  thing  unusual  and  strange. 
They  talk  of  a  "  miraculous"  escape  from  som.e  dan- 
ger, meaning  merely  a  wonderful  escape;  and  of  a 
man's  being  delivered  "  providentially,"  when  they 
mean  only  that  the  deliverance  was  striking  and  re- 
markable.^    But  it  is  best  to  abstain  from  this  loose 

*  The  reason  some  give  for  disiinguisJmig  some  particular  events  as 
"providential,"  is  in  truth  a  reason  on  the  opposite  side.  An  unex- 
pected recovery  from  a  disease  which  seemed  hopeless,  or  a  wonderful 
escape  from  a  shipwreck,  &c ,  is,  they  say,  more  striJcing  to  their  minds, 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  83 

kind  of  language,  lest  we  should  be  understood  to 
mean  either  that  other  events  are  not  providential,  and 
that  God's  government  does  not  extend  to  the  ordina- 
ry course  of  things ;  or  else,  that  we — uninspired  men 
— are  permitted  to  decide  (in  cases  where  there  is  no 
evident  miracle)  what  are  the  designs  of  the  Most 
High,  and  what  are  the  occurrences  that  do,  and  that 
do  not,  belong  to  his  extraordinary  dispensations. 

The  nation  of  Israel  was,  as  we  have  said,  placed 
under  an  extraordinary  providence,  which  allotted  to 
them  victory  or  defeat, — plenty  or  famine, — and  other 
temporal  blessings  and  punishments,  according  to  their 
conduct.  And  these  were  the  rewards  and  punish- 
ments that  formed  the  sanction  of  the  Mosaic  Law. 
As  for  a  future  state  of  retribution  in  another  world, 
Moses  said  nothing  to  the  Israelites  about  that. 
Whatever  may  at  any  time  have  been  revealed  to 
himself,  and  to  some  other  highly  favoured  individuals, 
on  that  subject,  it  does  not  appear  that  he  was  com- 
missioned to  deliver  to  the  people  any  revelation  at  all 
concerning  a  future  state.  This  was  reserved  for  a 
GREATER  than  Moses,  and  for  a  more  glorious  dispen- 

and  impresses  them  more  with  a  sense  of  the  goodness  of  Providence 
than  ordinary  occurrences. 

Now,  for  this  very  reason,  tliey  should  labour  the  more  carefully  to 
bring  themselves  to  reflect  on  the  daily  benefits  they  receive  from 
"Hira  in  whom  we  live  and  move  and  have  our  being."  The  more 
prone  we  are  to  pass  by  with  careless  indifference  our  l)eing  preserved 
from  falling  into  a  dangerous  sickness,  or  from  being  shipwrecked  at  all, 
the  more  we  should  study  to  bring  our  minds  to  dwell  on  such  preser- 
vation; which  is,  in  truth,  no  less  '■'' providentiaV  than  a  man's  being 
delivered  out  of  a  sickness  or  a  shipwreck. 


84  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

sation  than  bis  Law.  For  as  we  read  in  the  Epistle 
to  the  Hebrews  "the  law  made  nothing  perfect;  but  the 
hringing  in  of  a  better  hope  did"  (Heb.  x.) — namely, 
the  promises  given  through  "Jesus  Christ,  who  brought 
life  and  immortality  to  light,  Hirough  the  GospeV 

Why  Moses  was  not  instructed  to  reveal  this  mo- 
mentous truth,  is  a  question  which  will  naturally  oc- 
cur to  every  one.  It  is  a  question  which  we  are  not 
competent  completely  to  answer ;  because,  as  has  been 
elsewhere  observed,  we  cannot  presume  to  explain 
why  the  Gospel  was  reserved  for  that  precise  period  at 
which  it  was  proclaimed.  .  But  that  inquiry, — why  a 
different  and  more  imperfect  dispensation  was  need- 
ful to  prepare  the  way  for  the  Gospel, — being  waived, 
as  one  surpassing  man's  knowledge  and  powers,  it  is 
easy  to  perceive  that  the  revelation  of  the  doctrine  in 
the  Mosaic  Law  would  have  been  neither  necessary 
nor  proper.  It  was  not  necessary  for  the  purpose  of 
affording  a  sanction  to  the  Law  of  Moses,  because  the 
Israelites  alone,  of  all  the  nations  of  the  world,  were, 
as  we  have  seen,  under  an  extraordinary  providence. 

The  necessary  foundation,  therefore,  of  all  religion, 
"that  God  is  a  reivarder  of  them  that  diligently  seek 
him,"  did  not  require,  as  it  must  in  all  other  nations, 
the  belief  in  a  future  retribution,  to  remedy  all  the 
irregularities  of  God's  ordinary  providence,  which 
among  this  peculiar  people  did  not  exist,  at  least  in 
the  same  degree  and  form  as  among  all  others.  Nor, 
again,  would  it  have  been  proper  for  Moses,  commis- 
sioned as  he  was  to  promulgate,  not  the  Gospel,  but 
the  Law,  to  proclaim  that  life  and  immortality  which 


CORRUPTIONS   OF  CHRISTIANITY.  85 

the  Gospel  was  destined  to  "bring  to  light;"  much 
less,  to  represent  eternal  happiness  as  attainable  other- 
wise  than  through  the  redemption  by  Christ,  which  the 
Gospel  holds  out  as  the  only  efficacious  means  of  pro- 
curing it. 

And  accordingly  it  is  observable  that  the  slight 
hints  of  this  doctrine  which  the  books  of  the  prophets 
contain — the  faint  dawnings,  as  it  were,  of  a  scheme 
which  was  to  bring  "  life  and  immortality  to  light," 
and  which  appear  more  and  more  bright  as  they  ap- 
proached the  period  of  that  more  perfect  revelation, 
are  in  perfect  consistency  with  the  rule  we  have  sup- 
posed Moses  to  have  observed ;  since  it  is  in  propor- 
tion as  they  give  more  and  more  clear  notices  of  the 
Redeemer  to  come,  and  in  almost  constant  conjunction 
with  their  descriptions  of  his  mission,  that  the  immor- 
tal life,  to  which  He  was  to  open  the  road  and  lead 
the  way,  is  alluded  to  by  the  prophets ;  and  also  in 
proportion  as  the  extraordinary  and  regular  adminis- 
tration of  divine  government  in  this  world,  by  which 
the  Law  had  been  originally  sanctioned,  and  under 
which  the  Jews  had  hitherto  lived,  was  gradually 
withdrawn.  That  it  was  in  these  writings,  and  not  in 
those  of  Moses,  that  the  Jews  must  have  sought  for 
indications  of  a  future  state  is  strongly  confirmed 
by  the  opinion  of  that  celebrated  and  learned  divine, 
Joseph  Mede,  who  declares  that  he  cannot  tell  on 
what  Scripture  authority  the  Jewish  Church  could 
have  founded  their  belief  in  a  future  state,  except  the 
well-known  passage  in  Daniel ;  and  even  of  that,  it 
may  be  observed,  that  it  does  not  necessarily  imply  a 


86 


resurrection  of  all  men.  Doubtless  it  did  not  escape 
Mede  that  there  are  in  the  other  prophets  many  allu- 
sions to  a  future  state,  which  were  so  understood  by  the 
inspired  authors  themselves,  as  they  are  by  us  Chris- 
tian readers;  but  it  does  not  follow  that  the  great 
mass  of  the  people — any  besides  the  studious  and  dis- 
cerning few — would  be  able  clearly  to  perceive  such 
meaning,  especially  when  a  different  interpretation  of 
those  very  passages  applicable  to  temporal  deliverances, 
might,  without  destroying  their  sense,  be  adopted. 
Nothing  appears  to  us  more  evident  than  the  descrip- 
tion in  Isaiah,  for  instance,  of  a  suffering  Messiah ;  yet 
we  well  know  that  a  prosperous  and  triumphant  tem- 
poral prince  was  generally  expected  by  the  Jews,  and 
that  the  frustration  of  this  hope  was  the  grand  stum- 
bling-block of  the  unbelieving  among  them. 

So  also  many  passages  of  the  prophets,  which  con- 
vey to  Christians,  who  have  enjoyed  the  Gospel  reve- 
lation, the  intimation  of  a  future  state  (at  least  in  their 
secondary  sense),  might  very  easily  be  otherwise  un- 
derstood; or,  at  least,  might  appear  not  decisive,  to 
those  who  lived  before  Jesus  Christ  had  ''^abolished 
death^  and  brought  life  and  immortality  to  light 
through  the  Gospel." 

We  are  told,  indeed,  that  even  at  a  time  long  ante- 
cedent to  that  of  Moses,  Abraham  "eagerly  desired  * 
to  see  the  day  of  the  Lord  Jesus ;  and  he  saw  it,  and 
was  glad."     In  these  words  our  Saviour  is  doubtless 

*  This  is  the  exact  sense  of  the  original,  fiyaWiaoarr,  John  viii,  56: 
though  our  version  renders  it  "rejoiced;"  but  Abraham's  joy  is  what 
is  mentioned  afterwards. 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  87 

alluding  to  the  sacrifice  of  Isaac,  and  to  Abraham's 
being  instructed  on  that  occasion,  that  the  transaction 
.was  a  "yir/i/re"  (Ileb.  xi.  19) ;  representing  the  death 
and  resurrection  of  Christ.  But  our  Lord  could  not 
have  meant  that  the  revelation  then  made  to  Abraham 
was  imparted  by  Moses  to  the  whole  nation  of  Israel. 

It  is  highly  probable,  that  both  Moses  himself,  and 
Abraham,  and  other  eminent  and  highly  favoured 
servants  of  God  in  those  days,  received,  more  or  less, 
revelations  of  several  things  which  they  were  not 
commissioned  to  impart  to  all  the  people.*  And 
among  other  things,  it  is  likely  they  were  taught  some- 
thing concerning  the  resurrection,  and  concerning  Him 
who  was  to  procure  it.  And  accordingly  we  find  the 
very  same  Apostle  who  speaks  of  the  Gospel  as 
"bringing  in  a  better  hope"  than  was  in  the  Law^ 
speaking  also  of  some  of  the  Patriarchs  as  "  looking 
for  a  better  country,  that  is,  a  heavenly."    (Heb.  xi.  16.) 

But  when  we  look  to  what  Moses  wrote,  by  divine 
command,  for  the  instruction  a7id  guidance  of  the  Israel- 
ites, and  as  belonging  to  the  Law — the  dispensation 
committed  to  him — we  find  him  dwelling  very  fully, 
and  minutely,  and  earnestly,  on  the  temporal  rewards 
and  temporal  punishments  they  were  to  look  for; 
saying  nothing  at  all  about  a  resurrection  and  a  day 
of  judgment  in  the  next  world. 

Many  persons  however  are  accustomed,  in  speaking 
of  the  present  subject,  to  confound  together  two  \ery 

*  The  eminently  pious  king,  Hezekiah,  however,  seems  to  have  had 
no  idea,  at  least  at  the  time  when  ho  composed  his  hymn  (2  Kinga 
XX.),  of  any  future  state. 


88  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

different  questions:  (1.)  What  was  the  actual  belief  of 
the  Jews — or  of  some  particular  Jews — on  this  or  that 
point?  and,  (2.)  What  was  revealed  to  them  in  the 
LAW?  No  unprejudiced  reader  of  that,  can  think 
that  Moses  designed  to  teach,  therein,  the  doctrine  of 
a  future  state  of  rewards  and  punishments  as  the  sanc- 
tion of  his  Law. 

On  the  actual  belief,  indeed,  of  the  great  mass  of  the 
Israelites,  we  have  no  means  of  deciding  positively ; 
but  if  any  one  should  suppose  most  of  them  to  have 
thought  little  or  nothing,  one  way  or  the  other,  about 
what  should  become  of  them  after  death,  nor,  conse- 
quently, to  have  either  believed  or  disbelieved,  pro- 
perly speaking,  the  doctrine  in  question,  his  conjecture 
certainly  would  not  be  at  variance  with  the  representa- 
tions Moses  gives  of  the  grossness  of  ideas,  and  puerile 
shortsightedness  of  the  nation  ;  who,  while  fed  by  a 
daily  miracle,  and  promised  the  especial  favour  of  the 
Maker  of  the  universe,  had  their  minds  set  on  "  the 
flesh-pots  of  Egypt,  and  the  fish,  and  the  cucumbers, 
and  the  leeks."  Christians  of  these  days  are  not  surely 
more  gross-minded  and  unthinking  than  those  Israel- 
ites ;  yet  a  large  proportion  of  them  require  to  be  in- 
cessantly reminded  that  this  life  is  not  the  whole  of 
their  existence;  though  the  doctrine  be  one  which  is 
expressly  declared  in  their  religion ;  and  silence  on 
that  subject  is  quite  sufficient,  if  not  to  eradicate  from 
their  minds  all  helief^  at  least  to  put  an  end  to  all 
thought^  about  the  matter. 

There  is  no  doubt,  however,  that  some  considerable 
time  before  our  Lord's  advent,  the  belief  in  a  future 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  89 

State  did  become  prevalent  (though,  as  the  case  of  the 
Sadducees  proves,  not  universal)  among  the  Jews.  In 
the  Second  Book  of  Maccabees,  a  work  of  small  autho- 
rity, indeed,  as  a  history,  but  affording  sufficient  evi- 
dence of  the  opinions  of  the  writer  and  his  contempo- 
raries, we  find  not  only  unequivocal  mention  of  the 
doctrine  (though  by  the  way  not  as  an  undisputed 
point),  but  persons  represented  as  actuated  by  the  mo- 
tives which  such  a  doctrine  naturally  suggests ;  which 
doubtless  we  should,  sometimes  at  least,  have  met  with 
also  in  the  historical  books  of  the  Old  Testament,  had 
the  same  belief  prevailed  all  along. 

And  our  Lord  himself  alludes  to  the  prevailing 
opinion  of  the  generality  of  those  whom  he  addresses : 
''Search"  (or  Ye  search*)  "  the  Scriptures,  for  in  them 
ye  think  ye  have  eternal  life,  and  they  are  they  that 
testify  of  me  ;"  as  much  as  to  say,  the  very  prophets 
who  allude  to  the  doctrine  of  eternal  life,  do  likewise 
foretell  the  coming  and  describe  the  character  of  me, 
the  Bestower  of  it ;  these  two  parts  of  their  inspired 
word  hang  together ;  he  who  is  blind  to  the  one,  can 
found  no  rational  hope  on  the  other ;  since  "  I  am  the 
w\ay,  and  the  truth,  and  the  life ;"  and  "  he  that  hath 
the  Son  hath  life,  and  he  that  hath  not  the  Son,  hath 
not  life."  This  passage,  indeed,  as  well  as  the  others 
to  the  same  purpose  in  the  New  Testament,  though 
they  imply  the  prevalence  of  this  tenet  among  the 
Jews,  and  the  general  sincerity  and  strength  of  their 
conviction,  do  not  at  all  imply  either  that  this,  their 

*  The  word  in  the  original,  ipzwar'^  may  boar  either  an  imperative 
or  an  indicative  sense. 


90  RISE,    PROGRESS,   AND 


confident  expectation,  was  well-founded  on  Scriptural 
evidence,  or  that  their  notions  respecting  a  future  life 
were  correct.  Had  these  last  two  circumstances  been 
superadded  (which  is  evidently  impossible)  to  the  ge- 
neral sincere  reception  of  the  doctrine,  it  could  not 
have  been  said  with  any  propriety,  that  "  Christ 
brought  life  and  immortcdity  to  light  through  the 
Gospel." 

The  truth  probably  is,  that  as  the  indications  of  a 
future  state  which  are  to  be  found  in  the  prophets,  are 
mostly  such  as  will  admit  of  an  interpretation  referring 
them  to  a  promise  of  temporal  deliverance,  those  per- 
sons would  most  naturally  so  understand  them,  in  the 
first  instance  at  least,  who  were  so  "slow  of  heart"  as 
to  the  prophecies  respecting  the  Messiah,  as  to  expect 
in  Him  a  glorious  temiyoral  prince  only  ;  while  those 
who  were  more  intelligent,  and  took  in  the  spiritual 
sense  of  the  prophecies  relating  to  Hivfi^  would  be  led 
to  put  the  spiritual  interpretation  on  the  other  also. 
We  say  in  the  first  instance ;  because  when  the  belief 
of  a  future  state  had  been  introduced,  from  whatever 
quarter,  and  did  prevail,  all  who  held  it  would  natu- 
rally interpret  in  that  sense  whatever  passages  in  their 
Scriptures  seemed  to  confirm  it.  But  it  does  not  fol- 
low that  such  a  belief  was  correct,  even  when  sup- 
ported by  an  appeal  to  passages  of  Scripture  which 
really  do  relate  to  the  doctrine  in  question ;  for  if  one 
part  of  a  scheme  be  understood  literally  and  car- 
nally, and  another  part  spirituallj^,  the  result  will  be 
a  most  erroneous  compound ;  if  eternal  life  be  under- 
stood to  be  promised,  but  the  character  and  kingdom 


CORRUPTIONS   OF  CHRISTIANITY.  91 


of  Christ,  who  was  to  bring  it  to  light  and  procure  it, 
be  misunderstood,  the  faith  thus  formed  will  be  essen- 
tially incorrect. 

So  far,  then,  as  any  of  the  Jews  disjoined  the  pro- 
phetic annunciations  of  immortality  from  those  relat- 
ing to  the  spiritual  kingdom  of  Christ,  and  looked  for 
eternal  rewards  as  earned  by  obedience  to  the  Mosaic 
Law,  so  far  their  expectations  were  groundless,  their 
faith  erroneous ;  even  though  resting  on  the  authority 
of  such  parts  of  Scripture  as,  in  a  different  sense,  do 
relate  to  the  doctrine  in  question. 

It  is  highly  probable,  however,  that  the  belief  of  a 
future  state,  as  it  prevailed  among  the  Jews  in  our 
Lord's  time,  and  for  a  considerable  period  after,  was 
not,  properly  speaking,  drawn  from  their  Scriptures, 
in  the  first  instance  ;  was  not  founded  on  the  few  faint 
hints  to  be  met  with  in  their  prophets,  though  these 
were  afterwards  called  in  to  supjjori  it ;  but  was  the 
gradual  result  of  a  combination  of  other  causes  with 
these  imperfect  revelations.  For  otherwise,  one  would 
expect  that  there  would  have  been  some  notice  in  the 
Books  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah  (written  after  all  the 
most  important  prophecies  had  been  delivered)  of  so 
mighty  a  revolution  having  taken  place  in  the  minds 
of  the  Jews  of  their  time,  as  a  change  from  ignorance 
to  a  full  conviction,  on  so  momentous  a  point,  by  a 
supposed  decisive  revelation. 

Kespecting  the  details  of  the  rise  and  prevalence  of 
the  doctrine  of  a  future  state  among  the  great  majority 
of  the  Jews,  the  scantiness  of  historical  authority  leaves 
us  chiefly  to  our  own  conjectures.     Without  entering 


92  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

at  large  into  a  disquisition  which  must,  after  all,  be 
obscured  by  much  uncertainty,  it  may  be  allowable  to 
suggest,  that  the  Jews  were  likely  to  be  much  influ- 
enced by  the  probable  arguments  which  their  own 
reason  partly  supplied,  and  which  they  partly  learned 
from  the  neighbouring  nations,  with  whom  (and  with 
some  of  the  more  intelligent  and  enlightened  of  them) 
they  had  much  more,  and  much  more  extensive,  inter- 
course after  the  captivity  than  before.  Nor  does  such 
a  supposition  militate,  as  might  at  first  sight  be  sus- 
pected, against  what  has  been  elsewhere  advanced 
respecting  the  prevailing  disbelief,  among  the  heathen, 
of  the  popular  fables  of  Elysium  and  Tartarus,  and 
respecting  the  emptiness  of  the  pretended  immortality 
of  the  soul,  held  by  philosophers.  For  whatever  their 
belief  might  be,  they  would  be  likely,  in  any  discus- 
sion with  their  Jewish  neighbours,  to  set  forth  either 
such  arguments  as  occurred  to  them  in  favour  of  a 
future  retribution,  which  undoubtedly  was  a  part  of 
the  religion  they  professed,  or  such  pretended  proofs 
of  the  natural  and  necessary  immortality  of  the  soul, 
as  their  schools  supplied.  And  such  discussions  we 
cannot  but  suppose  must  have  been  frequent ;  since 
the  intercourse  of  the  dispersed  Jews  with  the  Gentiles 
was  such  as  to  lead  to  the  disuse  of  their  own  language, 
and  the  consequent  necessity  of  a  translation  of  their 
Scriptures  into  Greek,  Now  the  Jews,  who  claimed 
to  be  favoured  with  an  authentic  revelation  of  God's 
will,  and  to  be  his  peculiar  People,  could  not  have 
been  satisfied  to  rest  their  pretensions  to  such  superi- 
ority, and  their  boast  of  its  advantages,  on  the  extra- 


CORRUPTIONS  OF   CHRISTIANITY.  93 

ordinary  providence  under  which  their  ancestors  had 
lived,  but  whicli  seems  to  have  been  nearly,  if  not 
entirely,  withdrawn  from  themselves  ;  but  would  be 
likely  to  set  up  a  rival  claim  to  that  of  the  Pagan  re- 
ligions, and  to  produce  from  their  Scriptures  every 
thing  that  might  seem  to  favour  the  hope  of  a  future 
reward.  And  this,  not  insincerely  ;  for  the  very  cii'- 
cumstance  of  the  withdrawing  of  that  miraculous 
providence  under  wdiicli  their  nation  had  formerly 
lived,  would  lead  them  to  the  expectation  of  something 
beyond  the  grave  to  compensate  the  loss.  God's 
moral  government  of  their  nation,  at  least,  they  were 
assured  of  from  their  own  past  history  ;  and  if  He  had 
formerly  been  "a  rewarder  of  them  that  diligently  seek 
Him,"  they  would  perceive  an  improbability  of  his 
ceasing  to  be  so;  though  in  this  world  the  "just 
recompense  of  reward"  was  evidently  no  longer  to  be 
looked  for.  It  was  to  be  expected,  therefore,  that 
they  should  be  more  inclined  to  believe  sincerely  in 
a  future  retribution  than  the  Pagans,  who  had  not  the 
same  experimental  assurance  that  the  Deity  is  indeed 
the  moral  Governor  and  Judge  of  mankind. 

Some,  however,  make  a  careless  use  of  those  common 
words  "know"  and  "believe."  When  discussing 
questions  as  to  what  was  "believed"  by  such  and 
such  persons,  thc}^  sometimes  speak  as  if  there  were 
but  these  two  states  of  mind, — to  believe  a  certain 
doctrine,  or  to  disbelieve  it ;  forgetting,  apparently, 
that  belief  admits  of  many  different  degrees^  from  a 
mere  presumption,  up  to  the  most  perfect  confidence. 
Yet  every  one's  own  experience  might  teach  him  this. 


94  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

For  we  commonly  sa.y,  "I  believe  so  and  so  is  the  case, 
but  I  am  not  quite  sureJ^  Some  again,  -vvhen  they 
speak  of  what  was  "  known  "  to  the  Pagans,  or  to  the 
Jews,  seem  to  forget  that  the  word  "knowledge" 
implies  three  things; — (1.)  Confident  belief;  (2.)  of 
what  is  true ;  (3.)  on  sufficient  evidence.  For  no  one 
could  be  said  to  know  any  thing  that  was  not  true. 
And  again,  if  any  one  had  before  him  one  of  Euclid's 
demonstrations,  he  would  not  be  said  to  know  the 
conclusion  (though  a  truth  in  reality  fully  proved)  if 
he  himself  felt  at  all  doubtful  about  it.  And  lastly, 
suppose  two  persons  were  quite  positive,  the  one  that 
the  moon  is  inhabited,  and  the  other  that  it  is  unin- 
habited, neither  would  be  said  to  know  the  truth  of  his 
opinion;  because,  though  one  or  the  other  must  be,  in 
fact,  true,  there  is  no  sufficient /jroo/' of  either. 

It  would  be  unsuitable  to  our  present  purpose — 
even  if  space  admitted — to  examine  all  the  passages  in 
the  Books  of  Moses  which  have  been  interpreted  as 
relating  to  a  future  state ;  it  may  be  needful,  however, 
to  say  a  few  words  respecting  that  one  which  is  cited 
by  our  Lord  himself  against  the  Sadducees,  in  proof 
of  the  doctrine :  "  Now,  that  the  dead  are  raised," 
says  He,  "  even  Moses  shewed  at  the  bush,  when  he 
saith,  '  I  am  the  God  of  Abraham,  and  the  God  of 
Isaac,  and  the  God  of  Jacob ;  He  is  not  the  God  of 
the  dead,  but  of  the  living ;  for  all  live  unto  Him.'  " 
(Luke  XX.  37.) 

Now  this  passage  is  sometimes  misunderstood, 
though  the  meaning  of  Jesus  is  sufficiently  plain 
to  an  attentive  reader  of  common  intelligence.    There 


CORRUPTIONS  OF   CHRISTIANITY.  95 

was  a  dispute  between  two  parties,  whether  there  were 
or  were  not  to  be  a  resurrection.  They  had  both  of 
them  heard  of  the  doctrine,  and  had  been  accustomed 
to  debate  the  question.  And  He  refers  them  to  a 
passage  which,  to  men  so  circumstanced^  would  afford 
an  argument  in  favour  of  the  doctrine.  But  Jesus 
does  not  say  that  Moses  designed  in  this  passage  to 
reveal  the  doctrine  to  the  unreflecting  and  gross- 
minded  people  he  was  instructing ;  or  that  for  that 
purpose  those  words  were  sufficient.  No  man  of 
common  sense — much  less  an  inspired  lawgiver,  such 
as  Moses — would  have  entrusted  so  important  a  reve- 
lation to  one,  slight,  obscure,  and  incidental  liint — so 
slight  that  the  passage  seems  to  have  quite  escaped  the 
notice  of  the  Pharisees  when  disputing  with  the  Sad- 
ducees  on  this  very  point. 

Had  Moses  been  commissioned  to  teach  the  Israehtes 
that  they  were  all  to  rise  from  the  dead,  and  to  stand 
before  God's  judgment-seat,  and  be  rewarded  or  pun- 
ished in  another  world,  according  as  they  had  obeyed 
oi  disobeyed  the  Law  he  was  delivering,  he  would  not, 
we  may  be  sure,  have  thought  it  sufficient  for  this  pur- 
pose, to  record  the  words,  "I  am  the  God  of  Abraham, 
Isaac,  and  Jacob."  He  would,  doubtless,  have  dwelt 
on  the  rewards  and  punishments  of  a  future  state  even 
more  copiously  and  more  strongly  than  he  does  on  the 
temporal  rewards  and  punishments  which  he  does  set 
before  them. 

For,  let  it  be  considered,  that  as  the  condition  of  the 
departed  is  unseen^  and  as  the  rewards  and  punishments 
of  a  future  life  are  not  only  comparatively  remote^  but 


96  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

also  must  be  considered  as  of  a  nature  very  different 
from  any  thing  we  can  have  experienced ;  from  all 
these  causes,  it  is  found  necessary  that  the  most 
repeated  assurances  and  admonitions  should  be  em- 
ployed, even  towards  those  who  have  received  the 
doctrine  on  the  most  satisfactory  authority.  A  Chris- 
tian minister,  accordingly,  in  these  days,  finds  that  his 
hearers  require  to  be  perpetually  reminded  of  this 
truth,  to  which  they  have  long  since  given  their 
assent ;  and  that  even,  with  all  the  pains  he  takes  to 
inculcate  it,  in  every  different  mode,  he  is  still  but 
very  partially  successful  in  drawing  off  men's  attention 
from  the  things  of  this  world,  and  fixing  it  on  the 
^^  unseen  things  that  are  eternal."  Much  more  must 
this  have  been  the  case  with  the  Israelites  whom  Moses 
was  addressing,  who  were  so  dull  and  gross-minded, 
so  childishl}^  shortsighted  and  sensual,  that  even  the 
immediate  miraculous  presence  of  God  among  them, 
of  whose  judgments  and  deliverances  they  had  been 
eye-witnesses,  was  insufficient  to  keep  them  steady  in 
their  allegiance  to  Him.  Even  the  temporal  sanctions 
of  the  Law, — the  plenty  and  famine — the  victory  and 
defeat,  and  all  the  other  points  of  that  alternative  of 
worldly  prosperity  and  adversity  which  was  set  before 
them — things  in  their  nature  so  much  more  easily 
comprehended  by  an  unthinking  and  barbarous  people, 
and  so  much  more  suited  to  their  tastes — it  was  found 
necessary  to  detail  with  the  utmost  minuteness,  and  to 
repeat  and  remind  them  of  in  the  most  impressive 
manner,  in  a  vast  number  of  different  passages.  (See 
Exod.  XV.  26;    xx.  12;  xxiii.  20; — Lev.  xxv.  17; 


CORRUPTIONS  OF   CHRISTIANITY.  97 

xxvi.  3  ; — Numb.  xiv.  20 ;  xxxii.  10  ;  xxxiii.  55  ; — 
Deut.  i.  35;  iv.  1;  v.  29;  vi.  2;  vii.  12;  viii.  1;  xi.  8; 
XV.  4 ;  xvi.  20 ;  xvii.  19 ;  xxviii.  1 ;  xxix.  22 ; 
XXX.  1 ;  xxxi.  16 ;  xxxii.  23-43.) 

Is  not,  then,  the  conclusion  inevitable,  that  if  to 
such  a  people  the  doctrine  of  future  retribution  had 
been  to  be  revealed,  or  any  traditional  knowledge  of 
it  confirmed,  we  should  have  found  it  still  more 
explicitly  stated,  and  still  more  frequently  repeated  ? 
And  when,  instead  of  anything  like  this,  we  have  set 
before  us  a  few  scattered  texts,  which,  it  is  contended, 
allude  to  or  imply  this  doctrine,  can  it  be  necessary 
even  to  examine  whether  they  are  rightly  so  inter- 
preted ?  Surely  it  is  a  sufficient  reply  to  say,  that  if 
Moses  had  intended  to  inculcate  such  a  doctrine,  he 
would  have  clearly  stated  and  dwelt  on  it  in  almost 
every  page.  Nor  is  it  easy  to  conceive,  how  any  man 
of  even  ordinary  intelligence,  and  not  blinded  by 
devoted  attachment  to  an  hypothesis,  can  attentively 
peruse  the  Books  of  the  Law,  abounding  as  they  do 
with  such  copious  descriptions  of  the  temporal  rewards 
and  punishments  (in  their  own  nature  so  palpable), 
which  sanctioned  that  Law,  and  with  such  earnest 
admonitions  grounded  on  that  sanction,  and  yet  can 
bring  himself  seriously  to  believe,  that  the  doctrine 
of  a  state  of  retribution  after  death  (which,  it  cannot 
be  contended,  is  even  mentioned,  however  slightly,  in 
more  than  a  very  few  passages)  formed  a  part  of  the 
Mosaic  revelation. 

It  deserves  to  be  remarked  here  how  strong  an 
internal  evidence  of  the  truth  of  what  Moses  wrote,  is 

5 


98 


afforded  by  the  fact,  that  he  thus  represented  the 
sanction  of  his  Law  as  consisting  of  temporal  rewards 
and  punishments  only. 

For  had  he  been  a  false  pretender,  he  would  have 
known  that  he  could  not  secure  the  constant  fulfilment 
of  his  promises  and  threats.  And  his  imposture  would 
have  been  detected,  when  men  found  that  they  were 
not  regularly  rewarded  and  punished  according  as 
they  obeyed  or  disobeyed  his  law.  We  may  be  sure, 
therefore,  that  a  crafty  impostor  would  not  have 
trusted  entirely  to  promises  and  threats  of  temporal 
goods  and  evils  alone.  He  would,  doubtless,  have 
taught  the  Israelites  to  look  for  a  state  of  future  retri- 
bution also  ;  which  was  done  by  the  ancient  heathen 
law-givers.  Most  of  these,  probably,  did  not  them- 
selves believe  in  what  they  taught  about  Elysium  and 
Tartarus;  but  they  judged  it  wise  to  try  to  make  their 
people  believe  it,  for  the  sake  of  keeping  them  in  awe. 
And  they  knew  that  the  falsity  of  their  promises  and 
threats  respecting  another  world  could  not  be  detected 
by  experience. 

And  Moses,  no  doubt,  would  have  proceeded  in  the 
same  manner,  had  he  been  a  pretender.  But  he  was 
fully  convinced  that  the  Israelites  really  did  live  under 
that  miraculous  Providence  which  he  described.  And 
their  own  experience  taught  them  that  what  he  said 
was  true.     (Deut.  iv.  3,  4.) 

As  for  the  particulars  of  all  the  various  instructions 
given  to  the  Israelites,  both  by  Moses  and  by  the  other 
writers  of  what  is  called  the  Old  Testament,  these  are 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIAXITY.  99 

to  be  learned  only  from  a  careful  study  of  iIk  se  books 
themselves.  Our  present  design  was  merely  to  give  a 
sketch  of  the  general  character  of  what  is  called  the 
Mosaic  Dispensation,  especially  as  to  the  points  where- 
in it  differs  from  other  religious  systems. 

It  is  to  be  borne  in  mind,  then — 1^  That  it  was 
designed  for  one  People  alone,  though  it  was  prepara- 
tory to  a  religion  intended  for  all  the  world ;  and  its 
ordinances  accordingly  are  not  at  all  binding  on  ns  ; 
2dlij^  It  was  full  of  very  minute  directions  and  regu- 
lations, designed,  partly  to  keep  the  Israelites  separate 
from  the  Gentiles,  and  faithful  to  the  true  God,  but 
partly,  by  their  hidden  typical  meaning,  to  foreshew 
and  prepare  the  way  for  the  Gospel  revelation  ;  3c//y, 
It  was  a  theocracy ;  a  system  of  direct,  special,  tem- 
poral government  by  God's  extraordinary  providence. 
And  accordingly,  the  sanction  of  the  Mosaic  Law  was 
not  the  rewards  and  punishments  of  a  future  state, 
but  temporal  blessings  and  judgments. 

These  are  the  points  which  it  is  the  most  important 
to  keep  clearly  and  constantly  before  the  mind ;  for 
this  reason  among  others :  That  mistaken  notions  on 
some  of  these  points  ma}^  endanger  a  man's  christian 
faith,  by  giving  rise  to  difficulties  and  objections  much 
greater,  than  our  religion — such  as  it  really  is — can 
ever  be  exposed  to. 

Objections  there  are,  indeed,  to  which  no  complete 
answer  can  be  given,  except  by  shewing  that  there 
are  much  stronger  objections  on  the  opposite  side. 
But  none  of  the  objections  to  the  christian  revelation, 
such  as  it  was  really  given^   are  so  strong  as  those 


100  RISE,    PROGRESS,   AND 

brought  against  what  it  is  sometimes  erroneously 
represented  to  be. 

Suppose,  for  instance,  any  one  is  taught  to  believe, 
as  a  part  of  his  religion,  that  some  portion  of  the 
Mosaic  Law  is  binding  on  Christians ;  although  the 
persons  who  teach  this  are  far  from  being  all  of  them 
agreed  as  to  which  precepts  are  binding,  and  which 
not;  and  although  the  Apostle  Paul  speaks  most 
clearly  of  the  Gentiles  as  not  being  at  all  "  under  the 
Law"  (Rom.  vi.  14),  he  would  find  in  this  a  difficulty 
which  is  caused  entirely  by  a  misapprehension  of 
Scripture. 

Again,  suppose  a  man  to  have  taken  up  the  notion 
that  temporal  blessings  and  calamities  are  now  a  sign 
of  the  Divine  favour  or  displeasure  towards  indi- 
viduals or  nations,  and  that  whenever  some  great 
calamity  occurs,  we  are  at  liberty  to  declare  that  such 
and  such  a  sin  has  called  down  the  divine  vengeance, 
this  leaves  an  opening  for  objections  which  can  never 
be  got  over ;  for  he  sees  that  bad  men  often  escape 
such  temporal  calamities,  while  much  better  men  are 
exposed  to  them;  and  he  knows  also  that  Jesus  Christ 
and  his  apostles  endured  great  affliction  in  this  world, 
and  were  rejected  by  the  Jews  on  that  very  ground. 
So  that  this  doctrine  would  make  Scripture  contra- 
dictory both  to  itself  and  to  daily  experience. 

And  again,  if  he  is  taught  that  Moses  was  commis- 
sioned to  reveal  to  the  Israelites  the  doctrine  of  a 
resurrection,  he  will  not  be  able  to  answer  an  infidel 
who  mny  point  out  to  him  how  very  imperfectly  (at 
best)  the  Books  of  Moses  accomplish  this  purpose; 


CORRUPTIONS  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  101 


and  also,  how  completely  at  variance  this  is  with  the 
declaration  that  "Jesus  Christ  brought  life  and  imnior- 
ti^litj  to  light."  So  that  here,  again,  Scripture  will  be 
made  to  contradict  itself. 

All  these  will  be  great  stumbling-blocks  to  the 
Christian.  But  when  we  look  to  the  plain  meaning 
of  the  Sacred  Books,  without  attending  to  the  fanciful 
theories  of  uninspired  men,  all  these  difficulties 
vanish. 

As  for  the  question,  what  will  be  the  lot,  in  another 
world,  of  those  Jews  or  Pagans  who  never  heard  of 
the  Gospel,  the  only  answer  is,  that  the  Gospel  reve- 
lation contains  instructions  designed  for  those  who 
have  heard  the  Gospel,  as  to  what  their  duty  is,  in 
living  according  to  it  themselves,  and  doing  their 
best  to  impart  it  to  others. 

As  for  those  whom  Providence  has  shut  out  from 
the  knowledge  of  it,  all  inquiries  respecting  them 
must  be  answered  as  our  Lord  answered  Peter's 
inquiry  what  was  to  be  the  fate  of  the  Apostle  John : 
"What  is  that  to  thee?  follow  thou  me."  (John  xxi. 
21,  22.) 


102  RISE,   PROGRESS,   AND 


INTRODUCTION  OF  THE  GOSPEL. 

Although  the  Jews  were  in  eager  expectation  at 
the  time  when  the  Lord  Jesus  appeared,  of  an 
ANOINTED  Saviour  (Messiah  or  CHRIST),*  whom 
the  predictions  of  their  prophets  had  taught  them  to 
expect  about  that  time,  they  did  not  expect  Him 
to  introduce  anything  that  could  be  called  a  new 
religion ;  but  rather  to  confirm  and  extend  through 
the  world  the  Mosaic  Law.  And  this,  it  is  well 
known,  is  what  the  unconverted  Jews  of  this  day 
expect. 

Yet  some  of  the  prophecies  relating  to  the  Christ's 
kingdom,  do  contain  allusions  to  the  introduction  of 
a  new  religion,  distinct  from  that  taught  by  Moses. 
The  most  decisive  of  these  prophecies,  in  relation  to 
this  point,  is  that  of  Jeremiah, — "Behold  the  days 
come  [are  coming]  saith  the  Lord,  that  I  will  make  a 
NEW  COVENANT  with  the  House  of  Israel  *  * 
*  *  not  according  to  the  covenant  that  I  made  ivith 
their  failiers^^  &c. 

Now  the  system  of  divine  Laws  under  which  the 

*  These  words  signify  in  the  Hebrew  and  the  Greek  "  The  Anointed," 
from  the  ancient  practice  of  anointing  a  king,  or  a  'priest,  or  a  prophet^ 
as  a  part  of  the  ceremony  of  appointing  him  to  his  office. 


CORRUPTIONS   OF  CHRISTIANITY.  103 

Israelites  lived,  is,  in  the  Books  of  Moses,  always 
called  (in  our  version)  the  "Covenant"  which  the 
Lord  made  with  them.  And  in  the  Gospels  and  the 
Apostolic  Epistles,  the  same  word  (in  the  Greek)  is 
always  applied  to  the  christian  system. 

This,  however,  is  likely  to  escape  the  notice  of  the 
mere  English  reader;  because,  in  our  version,  the 
very  same  word  Diathehe  which,  in  reference  to  the 
Mosaic  Law  J  is  generally  rendered  COVENANT,  is 
translated — when  it  has  reference  to  the  Gospel — by 
the  word  TESTAMENT.*     And  even  in  the  very 


*  Yet  in  Gal.  iii.  15-19,  it  is  translated  Covenant,  and  what  is  more 
remarkable,  the  very  same  words  in  the  original  are  translated,  Heb. 
viii.  6,  "Mediator  of  a  Covenaiit,^^  and  in  Heb,  ix.  15,  "Mediator  of  a 
Testament:' 

It  would  be  unsuitable  in  a  work  of  this  kind,  to  enter  on  the 
discussion  of  the  interpretation  of  a  disputed  text,  but  it  may  be 
remarked  : — 

I.  That  the  passage  in  Exod.  xxiv.,  which  is  cited  in  Heb.  ix., 
ought  to  have  been  translated  in  both  by  the  same  English  words. 

II.  That  though  we  are  accustomed  to  connect  the  idea  of  a 
covenant  [compact]  with  signing  and  sealing,  and  not  with  any  death 
of  a  sacrificed  victim;  and  again,  are  familiar  with  the  idea  of  a  man's 
bequeathing  his  property  by  a  will,  which  is  to  take  effect  after  his 
death, — with  the  Jews  it  was  the  reverse.  They  (as  well  as  many 
other  ancient  nations,  as  may  be  seen  in  many  passages  of  Homer) 
were  accustomed  to  see  every  covenant  ratified  by  the  blood  of  a 
victim.  And,  on  the  other  hand.  Wills  they  had  none;  since  the 
Mosaic  Law  disposed  of  a  man's  property  at  his  death.  Accordingly, 
no  one,  in  writing  to  Hebrews  (even  though  speaking  of  the  Gospel 
alone),  would  have  been  likely  to  introduce  a  reference  to  Wills. 
But,— 

III.  The  writer  is  evidently  drawing  a  parallel  between  the  Mosaic 
Law  and  the  Gospel.     Now  the  Law  was  not  at  all  of  the  nature  of 


104  RISE,    PROGRESS,   AND 

passage  of  Exodus  (xxiv.  8)  which  is  cited  in  the 
ninth  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  the  very 
words  which  our  translators  had  before  rendered 
"  Covenant^''  they  have  changed  into  "  Testament.'''' 
(Heb.  ix.  20.)  And  yet  the  word  is  so  far  from 
having  different  meanings  in  reference  to  the  Laio 
and  to  the  Gospel^  that,  on  the  contrary,  both  the 
Lord  Jesus  Himself  and  his  Apostles  most  plainly 
draw  a  parallel  between  the  two,  and  point  out  the 
circumstances  of  the  former  Covenants  as  types  and 
shadows  of  the  Gospel  Dispensation. 

In  particular,  it  was  anciently  the  universal  practice 
to  ratify  and  sanction  every  kind  of  Covenant  by  the 
sacrifice  of  a  victim^  the  shedding  of  whose  blood  was 
a  necessary  ceremony,  so  this  took  place  in  both 
cases. 

Moses,  on  the  occasion  of  the  establishment  of  the 
LAW,  offered  a  sacrifice,  and  sprinkled  the  blood  of 
the  victim  on  the  people;  saying,  "This  is  the  blood 
of  the  Covenant  (Exod.  xxiv.  8)  [Testament]  (Heb. 
ix.  20)  which  the  Lord  hath  made  with  you."     And 

a  Will  [Testament],  not  being  bequeatlied  by  Moses  at  his  death,  but 
fully  established  forty  years  before.     And  accordingly, 

IV.  "We  may  observe,  that,  in  the  passage  before  us,  the  parallel 
drawn  is  not  between  Christ  and  Moses,  but  between  Christ  and  the 
victim  slain  by  Moses  as  the  ratifier  of  the  Covenant. 

To  speak  of  the  death  of  a  "  Testator,"  therefore,  totally  destroys 
the  parallel  which  plainly  was  in  the  writer's  mind,  and  makes  the 
whole  passage  unmeaning.  But  when  the  death  spoken  of  is  under- 
stood of  the  death  of  the  sacrificed  victim — even  Jesus  Clirist,  who 
offered  Himself  to  die  in  our  stead,  and  for  our  deliverance,  the 
parallel  which  the  writer  is  dwelling  on  becomes  intelligible  and 
striking. 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  105 


the  Lord  Jesus,  at  the  Last  Supper,  when  about  to 
offer  up  Himself  as  a  sacrifice,  says,  on  giving  to  the 
disciples  the  wine  which  represented  his  blood,  that  is, 
his  life,  "This  cup  is  the  new  Testament  [Covenant] 
in  my  blood,  which  is  shed  for  you." 

The  word  Testament,  therefore,  whenever  it  occurs 
in  Scripture,  is  always  to  be  understood  in  the  sense 
of  '*  Covenant  ^^  [or  "Dispensation"]. 

The  Christian  religion,  then,  though  springing  out 
of  the  Mosaic,  of  which  it  was  the  fulfilment  and  com- 
pletion,* yet  was  in  itself  a  new  Religion.  It  was  the 
fruity  of  which  the  Mosaic  Dispensation  was  the  blos- 
som. And  it  was  as  distinct  from  it,  and  in  many 
respects  unlike  it,  as  a  fruit  compared  with  the  blos- 
som which  precedes  it  and  produces  it. 

The  chief  points  which  distinguish  the  Christian 
Dispensation  from  the  Mosaic,  are  these  three:  1. 
Spirituality  ;  2.  Universality  ;  and,  3.  Unity.  The  new 
kingdom  of  God  was  to  be  "  not  of  this  world,"  but 
spiritual;  it  was  to  be  open  to  all  mankind  as  its 
subjects;  and  it  was  to  admit  all  of  them  to  equal 
privileges. 

The  former  kingdom  of  God  was  a  kingdom  of  this 
world.  The  Lord  was,  as  has  already  been  pointed 
out,  not  only  the  God,  but  the  temporal  Ruler  of  the 
Israelites  ;  prescribing  to  them  not  only  the  religious 
rites  with  which  He  was  to  be  worshipped,  but  also 
the  civil  regulations  under  which  they  were  to  live, 

*  "  I  am  not  come,"  says  our  Lord,  "  to  destroy  the  Law  and  the 
Prophets,  but  to  fulfil." 

6* 


106  RISE,   PROGRE&S,    AND 


and  enforcing  obedience  by  temporal  rewards  and 
penalties. 

Jesus  Christ,  on  the  contrary,  refused  an  earthly 
kingdom,  when  attempts  were  made  to  force  it  on 
Him,  and  declared  that  "  his  kingdom  was  not  of  this 
world."  He  disclaimed  all  right  to  interfere  in  tem- 
poral concerns;  saying  to  one  who  wished  Him  to  de- 
cide between  him  and  his  brother,  "  Who  made  me  a 
judge  or  a  divider  over  you  ?"  He  bid  his  hearers 
submit  to  the  civil  government  of  the  Romans,  saying, 
*'  Eender  to  Caesar  the  things  that  are  Caesar's,  and  to 
God  the  things  that  are  God's."  And,  so  far  from 
promising  victory,  and  long  life,  and  worldly  pros- 
perity, to  his  followers,  as  a  reward  of  their  obedience 
to  Him,  He  prepared  them  for  suffering  and  death  in 
his  cause;  even  such  as  He  endured  Himself;  and 
pronounced  them  "  blessed  when  men  should  hate  and 
persecute  "  them  for  His  sake,  saying,  "  great  is  your 
reward  in  heaven." 

For,  the  rewards  and  punishments  which  formed  the 
sanction  of  this  New  Dispensation  were  those  of  the 
next  world,  and  those  only.  Jesus  rebuked  his  disci- 
ples for  proposing,  in  their  zeal  for  his  honour,  to  call 
down  fire  from  heaven  on  a  village  which  had  rejected 
Him;  as  the  Prophet  Elias  [Elijah]  had  been  divinely 
commissioned  to  do,  under  the  old  dispensation.  (Luke 
ix.  54.)  Jesus  reproved  them,  as  "not  knowing  what 
manner  of  spirit  Uiey  were  of,"  Pie  having  "  come  not 
to  destroy  men's  lives,  but  to  save." 

But  this  was  not  from  his  regarding  a  rejection  of 
Him  as  more  pardonable  than  the  sins  of  those  who 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  107 

had  lived  before  the  days  of  the  Gospel.  He  taught 
the  reverse  of  this.  For  shortly  after,  when  He  sent 
out  seventy  disciples  to  preach  the  Gospel,  He  de- 
nounced heavier  judgments  than  what  had  fallen  on 
sinners  of  old,  against  such  as  should  reject  that  Gos- 
pel. "  It  shall  be  more  tolerable^^^  said  He,  "  for  Sodom 
and  Gomorrah"  (which  did  suffer  destruction  by  fire 
from  heaven)  "in  the  day  of  judgment,  than  for  that 
city."  And  while  He  forewarned  His  disciples  that 
"  in  the  world  they  would  have  tribulation,"  He  pro- 
mised to  the  faithful  Christian  "  to  raise  him  up  at  the 
last  day,"  and  to  "  prepare  a  place  "  for  such,  in  his 
"  Father's  house." 

Thus  different  was  the  New  Dispensation  from  the 
Old,  in  respect  of  the  rewards  and  punishments  which 
formed  the  sanction  of  each. 

The  Worship  also  that  was  required  under  the  Gos- 
pel, was  of  a  more  spiritual  character  than  that  pre- 
scribed by  the  Law. 

It  is  true,  the  Israelites  were  commanded  to  "  love 
the  Lord  their  God,  with  all  their  heart,  and  with  all 
their  soul,  and  with  all  their  strength."  But  a  great 
part  of  their  service  of  Him  consisted  (as  the  Apostle 
Paul  expresses  it)  "  in  meats  and  drinks,  and  carnal 
ordinances  " — that  is,  outward  bodily  acts ;  most  of 
which  had  (as  has  been  before  observed)  an  inward 
hidden  signification  in  reference  to  the  Gospel. 

Jesus,  on  the  contrary,  tells  the  woman  of  Samaria, 
that  the  time  is  at  hand  "  when  the  true  worshippers 
shall,  neither  on  Mount  Gerizim,  nor  at  Jerusalem, 
w^orship  the  Father ;"  but  that  they  "  shall  worship 


108 


Him  in  spirit  and  in  truth."  (John  iv.  23.)  What 
He  means  by  worshipping  in  iruih^  and  what  the 
Apostle  means  by  saying  that  "  the  law  was  given  by 
Moses,  but  grace  and  truth  came  by  Jesus  Christ" 
(John  i.  17),  is,  not  that  the  Mosaic  religion  was  not 
true^  but  that  its  ordinances  contained  the  shadow  of 
that  of  which  the  Gospel  contains  the  substance.  The 
truth  of  the  Gospel  is  not  (in  reference  to  the  Law) 
truth  as  opposed  to  falsehood^  but  reality^  as  contrasted 
with  shadows  and  figurative  representations.  Thus, 
we  read  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  "If  the  blood 
of  bulls  and  goats,  &c.,  sanctify  to  the  purifying  of  the 
fiesh''^  (that  is,  remove  ceremonial  impurity,  so  as  to 
enable  a  man  to  attend  the  assemblies  of  worshippers), 
"  how  much  more  shall  the  blood  of  Christ  purify 
your  conscience  from  dead  works." 

In  the  Mosaic  religion,  the  number  is  very  great  of 
what  may  be  not  improperly  called  "Sacraments." 
For  a  large  portion  of  the  very  numerous  ordinances 
of  the  LAW — the  various  sacrifices,  purifyings,  and 
other  ceremonial  observances, — were  of  the  nature  of 
what  we  call  Sacraments — that  is,  outward  visible 
signs  [figures],  divinely  appointed,  and  having  an  in- 
ward meaning  connected  with  religion.  The  worship, 
in  short,  of  the  Israelites,  may  be  considered  as  almost 
made  up  of  Sacraments. 

But  a  great  part  of  the  inward  signification  of  these 
Sacraments  was  hidden  from  the  worshippers ;  though 
they  were  taught  that  a  divine  blessing  would  accom- 
pany their  observance  of  those  rites,  in  pious  obedi- 
ence to  the  Lord.     In  the  Passover,  for  instance,  all 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  109 

that  they  understood  as  signified  in  that  ordinance, 
was  the  commemoration  of  their  deliverance  from  the 
plague  which  slew  the  Egyptians.  But  the  more  im- 
portant part  of  its  signification,  the  sacrifice  of  the  true 
"  Lamb  of  God,  who  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world," 
was  not  made  known  till  the  Gospel  revelation  ap- 
peared. 

Under  the  Gospel,  on  the  contrary,  the  religious 
rites  instituted  by  Christ  himself  were  only  the  Sacra- 
ments of  Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper :  the  one  for 
the  admission  of  members  into  his  Church,  and  the 
other  to  commemorate  his  death  for  man's  redemp- 
tion, and  to  represent  our  partaking  of  his  Spirit. 
The  one  Sacrament  denotes  the  spiritual  Birth  of  the 
Christian  ;  the  other,  the  continued  support  of  his  Spi- 
ritual LifeJ^ 

And  the  signification  of  these  two  ordinances  is 
much  more  clearly  and  fully  explained  to  Christians 
in  the  New  Testament  Scriptures,  than  the  significa- 
tion of  the  Mosaic  ordinances  was  in  the  Law.  And 
moreover,  the  directions  given  as  to  the  mode  of  ob- 
serving these  ordinances,  are  much  less  minute  and 
particular  than  those  given  by  Moses.  For  instance, 
there  is  nothing  said  in  Scripture  as  to  the  use  of 
leavened  or  unleavened  bread  at  the  Lord's  Table ; — 
or  the  posture  of  the  communicants,  or  the  words  to  be 
used,  &c.     These  particulars,  and  also  all  other  f^rms 

*  John  vi.  48-63.  See  also  1  Cor.  xii,  13,  where  the  Apostle  ^ivcs 
exactly  the  above  view  of  the  two  Sacraments,  saying,  "By  one  Spirit 
ye  are  all  baptized  into  one  Body  .  .  .  and  have  been  all  made 
to  drink  into  one  Spirit." 


110 


and  ceremonies  for  religious  worship,  Jesus  left  to  be 
regulated  in  and  bj  each  Church  from  time  to  time, 
with  merely  the  general  direction  from  the  Apostles, 
''  Let  all  things  be  done  to  edifying." 

Under  the  LAW,  in  short,  the  worship  prescribed 
contained  a  great  number  of  outward  acts^  striking  to 
the  senses,  and  according  to  forms  which  were  pre- 
cisely laid  down  ;  while  the  inward  signijication  of 
those  forms  was  obscure  and  partially  hidden.  Under 
the  Gospel,  on  the  contrary,  the  worship  prescribed 
was  more  spiritual ;  the  external  acts  (as  far  as  en- 
joined by  Christ  himself)  being  very  few  and  simple, 
and  without  any  precise  directions  as  to  the  forms  of 
them ;  while  the  inward  signification  of  them  is 
plainly  made  known. 

And  in  what  relates  to  moral  conduct  also,  the  pre- 
cepts given  under  the  New  Covenant,  are  much  less 
numerous  and  less  precise  than  those  of  the  LAW. 
Not  that  Christians  were  meant  to  be  less  scrupulously 
careful  in  leading  a  virtuous  life  than  the  Israelites ; 
but  that  they  are  left  to  regulate  their  conduct  by  the 
PRINCIPLES  of  the  Gospel,  according  to  the  best  of 
their  own  judgment,  instead  of  having  a  multitude  of 
precise  precepts  laid  down  for  their  guidance. 

Just  as  the  christian  worship  was  left  to  be  regu- 
lated as  to  its  FORMS,  from  time  to  time,  by  each 
Church,  under  the  general  principle  of  all  "  being  done 
to  edifying,"  even  so  christian  j^racfe  was  left  to  be 
regulated  by  Christians  themselves,  in  conformity 
with  Gospel  principles^  and  the  examples  set  before  us 
by  Christ  and  his  Apostles. 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  Ill 


Thus  not  only  does  the  Gospel  require  a  morality 
in  many  respects  higher  and  more  perfect  in  itself  than 
the  Law,  but  it  places  morality  universally  on  higher 
grounds. 

Gratitude  for  the  redeeming  love  of  God  in  Christ, 
with  mingled  veneration  and  affection  for  the  person 
of  our  great  Master,  and  an  exalted  emulation,  leading 
us  to  tread  in  his  steps, — an  ardent  longing  to  behold 
his  glories  and  to  enjoy  his  presence  in  the  world  to 
come, — with  an  earnest  effort  to  prepare  for  that  bet- 
ter world, — love  towards  our  brethren  for  His  sake 
who  died  for  us  and  them, — and,  above  all,  the 
thought  that  the  Christian  is  a  part  of  "  the  temple  of 
the  Holy  Ghost"  who  dwelleth  in  the  Church, — even 
the  Spirit  of  Christ,  "  without  which  we  are  none  of 
His,"  a  temple  which  we  are  bound  to  keep  undefiled ; 
— ^these,  and  such  as  these,  are  the  sublime  principles 
of  morality,  into  a  conformity  with  which  the  Chris- 
tian is  to  fashion  his  heart  and  his  life ;  and  they  are 
such  principles  as  the  Mosaic  dispensation  could  not 
furnish. 

The  Israelites,  as  not  only  living  under  a  revelation 
which  had  but  a  shadow  of  the  good  things  of  the 
Gospel,  but  also  as  a  dull  and  gross-minded,  and 
imperfectly  civilized  people,  in  a  condition  corres- 
ponding to  that  of  childhood,  were  in  few  things  left 
to  their  own  moral  discretion,  but  were  furnished  witli 
precise  rules  in  most  points  of  conduct.  These 
answered  to  the  exact  regulations  under  which  child- 
ren are  necessarily  placed,  and  whic;h  are  gradually 
relaxed  as  they  advance  towards  maturity;    not  by 


112  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

an}^  means  on  the  ground  that  good  conduct  is  less 
required  of  men  than  children  ;  but  that  they  are 
expected  to  be  more  capable  of  regulating  their  own 
conduct  by  their  own  discretion,  and  of  acting  upon 
principle. 

When,  then,  the  Mosaic  code  was  abolished,  we 
find  no  other  system  of  rules  substituted  in  its  place. 
Our  Lord  and  His  Apostles  enforced  such  duties  as 
were  the  most  liable  to  be  neglected, — corrected  some 
prevailing  errors, — gave  some  particular  directions 
which  particular  occasions  called  for, — but  laid  down 
no  set  of  rules  for  the  conduct  of  a  Christian :  they 
laid  down  christian  principles  instead ;  they  sought  to 
implant  christian  dispositions.  And  this  is  the  more 
remarkable,  inasmuch  as  we  may  be  sure,  from  the 
nature  of  man,  that  precise  regulations,  even  though 
somewhat  tedious  to  learn,  and  burdensome  to  observe, 
would  have  been  highly  acceptable  to  their  converts. 
Hardly  any  restraint  is  so  irksome  to  man  {i.e.  to  "  the 
natural  man  ")  as  to  be  left  to  his  own  discretion,  yet 
still  required  to  regulate  his  conduct  according  to  cer- 
tain principles,  and  to  steer  his  course  through  the  intri- 
cate channels  of  life,  with  a  constant  vigilant  exercise 
of  his  moral  judgment.  It  is  much  more  agreeable  to 
human  indolence  (though  at  first  sight  the  contrary 
might  be  supposed)  to  have  a  complete  system  of  laws 
laid  down,  which  are  to  be  observed  according  to  the 
letter,  not  to  the  spirit, — and  which,  as  long  as  a  man 
adheres  to  them,  afford  both  a  consolatory  assurance 
of  safety,  and  an  unrestrained  liberty  as  to  every  point 
not  determined  by  them, — than  to  be  called  upon  for 


CORRUPTIONS  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  113 


incessant  watchfulness, — careful  and  candid  self-exa- 
mination,— and  studious  cultivation  of  certain  moral 
dispositions. 

Accordingly,  most,  if  not  all  systems  of  man's 
devising  (whether  corruptions  of  Christianity,  or  built 
on  any  other  foundation)  will  be  found,  even  in  what 
appear  their  most  rigid  enactments,  to  be  accommodated 
to  this  tendency  of  the  human  heart.  When  Mahomet, 
for  instance,  enjoined  on  his  disciples  a  strict  fast  dur- 
ing a  certain  period,  and  an  entire  abstinence  from 
wine  and  from  games  of  chance,  and  the  devotion  of 
a  precise  portion  of  their  property  to  the  poor,  leaving 
them  at  liberty,  generally,  to  follow  their  own  sensual 
and  worldly  inclinations,  he  imposed  a  far  less  severe 
task  on  them,  than  if  he  had  required  them  constantly 
to  control  their  appetites  and  passions,  to  repress 
covetousness,  and  to  be  uniformly  temperate,  charita- 
ble, and  heavenly-minded.  And  had  Paul  been  (as 
a  false  teacher  always  will  be)  disjwsed  to  comply 
with  the  expectations  and  wishes  which  his  disciples 
would  naturally  form,  he  would  doubtless  have  refer- 
red them  to  some  part  of  the  Mosaic  Law  as  their 
standard  of  morality,  or  would  have  substituted  some 
other  system  of  rules  in  its  place.  Indeed,  there  is 
strong  reason  to  think  (especially  from  what  we  find 
in  1st  Corinthians),  that  something  of  this  nature  had 
actually  been  desired  of  him.  He  seems  to  have  been 
applied  to  for  more  precise  rules  than  he  was  will- 
ing to  give ;  particularly  as  to  the  lawfulness  of  going 
to  idol-feasts,  and  as  to  several  points  relative  to  mar- 
riage and  celibacy  ;  concerning  which  and  other  mat- 


114  RISE,   PROGRESS,   AND 

ters,  he  gives  briefly  sucli  directions  as  the  occasion 
rendered  indispensable,  but  breaks  off  into  exhorta- 
tions to  "use  this  world  as  not  abusing  it;"  and 
speedily  recurs  to  the  general  description  of  the  chris- 
tian character,  and  the  inculcation  of  christian  princi- 
ples. He  will  not  be  induced  to  enter  into  minute 
details  of  things  forbidden  and  permitted, — enjoined 
and  dispensed  with ;  and  even  when  most  occupied 
in  repelling  the  suspicion  that  Gospel  liberty  exempts 
the  Christian  from  moral  obligation,  instead  of  retain- 
ing or  framing  anew  any  system  of  prohibitions  and 
injunctions,  he  urges  upon  his  hearers  the  very  consi- 
deration of  their  being  exempt  from  any  such  childish 
trammels,  as  a  reason  for  their  aiming  at  a  more  per- 
fect holiness  of  life,  on  purer  and  more  generous  mo- 
tives: "Sin,"  he  says,  "shall  not  have  dominion  over 
you  ;  for  ye  are  not  under  the  law  hut  under  grace ;"  and 
he  perpetually  incites  them  to  walk  worthy  of  their 
vocation,  on  the  ground  of  their  being  "  bought  with 
a  price,"  and  bound  to  "  live  unto  Him  who  died  for 
them  ;" — "  as  risen  with  Christ"  to  a  new  life  of  holi- 
ness,— exhorted  to  "set  their  affection  on  things 
above,  not  on  things  on  the  earth  ;" — as  "  living  sacri- 
fices" to  God;— as  "the  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost," 
called  upon  to  keep  God's  dwelling-place  undefiled, 
and  to  abound  in  all  "  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit,"  and  as 
"being  delivered  from  the  Law,  that  we  should  serve 
in  newness  of  the  Spirit,  and  not  in  the  oldness  of  the 
letter." 

He  who  seeks,  then  (as  many  are  disposed  to  do), 
either  in  the  Old  Testament,  or  in  the  New,  for  a  pre- 


CORRUPTIONS   OF    CHRISTIANITY.  115 

cise  code  of  laws  by  which  to  regulate  his  conduct, 
mistakes  the  character  of  our  religion.  It  is  indeed  an 
error,  and  a  ruinous  one,  to  think  that  we  may  "  con- 
tinue in  sin,  because  we  are  not  under  the  law  but 
under  grace ;"  but  it  is  also  an  error,  and  a  far  com- 
moner one,  to  inquire  of  the  Scriptures,  in  each  case 
that  may  occur,  what  we  are  strictly  bound  to  do  or 
to  abstain  from,  and  to  feel  secure  as  long  as  we  trans- 
gress no  distinct  commandment.  But  he  who  seeks 
with  sincerity  for  christian  principles  will  not  fail  to 
find  them.  If  we  endeavour,  with  the  aid  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  to  trace  on  our  own  heart  the  delineation  of  the 
christian  character  which  the  Scriptures  present,  and 
to  conform  all  our  actions,  and  words,  and  thoughts, 
to  that  character,  our  heavenly  Teacher  will  enable  us 
to  have  a  right  judgment  in  all  things,  and  we  shall 
be  "led  by  the  Spirit"  of  Christ  to  follow  his  steps, 
and  to  "  purif}^  ourselves  even  as  He  is  pure ;"  that 
when  He  shall  appear,  we  may  be  made  like  unto 
Him,  and  may  behold  Him  as  He  is. 

Besides  Spirituality,  another  striking  feature  of  the 
Christian  Dispensation,  as  contrasted  with  the  Mosaic, 
is  its  UNIVERSx^LITY.  It  was  to  be  unlimited, 
both  in  time  and  in  place.^  The  Mosaic  Law  being 
only  a  preparation  for  the  Gospel,  was  to  come  to  an 


*  Hence  the  term  Catholic  {«iOo\tKfi — universiil)  is  applied  to  the 
Christian  Church— specially  in  opposition  to  the  Jewish.  It  may  bo 
remarked,  by  the  way,  that  the  term  Roman  Catholic  does,  in  strict- 
ness of  speech,  imply  a  contradiction, — Roman  suggesting  a  necessary 
connexion  with  one  place,  while  Catholic  denotes  having  no  necessary 
connexion  with  any  one  place  more  than  another. 


116  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

end  on  the  establishment  of  the  new  Kingdom  of  Hea- 
ven, which  is  to  continue  to  the  end  of  the  world. 

And  again,  the  Old  Dispensation  was  designed  for 
one  nation ;  the  New  for  all  nations.  The  "  People 
of  God  "  was  henceforth  to  comprise,  not  merely  the 
"  seed  of  Abraham  after  the  flesh,"  but  all  mankind, 
as  many  as  would  embrace  the  Gospel.  ''  As  many 
as  received  Him"  (Jesus  Christ),  ''to  them  gave  He 
power  to  become  the  Sons  of  God."  (John  i.)  The 
language  of  Moses,  and  of  those  who  came  after  him 
under  the  Law,  was,  "  What  nation  is  there  so  great, 
that  hath  God  so  nigh  unto  them,  as  the  Lord  our 
God  is,  in  all  things  that  we  call  upon  Him  for?"  and 
"  He  hath  not  dealt  so  with  any  nation  ;  neither  have 
the  heathen  knowledge  of  his  laws."  The  language 
of  Jesus  Christ  and  his  Apostles  was,  "  Go  ye  into  all 
the  world,  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature :" 
*'  Go  and  teach  (make  disciples  of)  all  nations :" 
"  There  is  neither  Jew,  nor  Greek,  barbarian,  Scy- 
thian, bond,  or  free."  And  in  writing  to  Gentile 
believers,  the  Apostle  calls  them  (Gal.  vi.  16)  "  the 
Israel  of  God;"  and  says,  "if  ye  are  Christ's,  then  are 
ye  Abraham's  seed,  and  heirs  according  to  the  pro- 
mise."    (Gal.  iii.  29.) 

Hence  it  was,  no  doubt,  that  the  Apostles  never 
applied  the  term  "  Christians  "*  to  the  members  of  any 

*  The  word  Christian  (Xpi^riaj/os)  occurs  but  three  times  in  the  New 
Testament,  Acts  xi.  26,  xxvi.  28 ;  1  Peter  iv.  16. — In  no  one  of  these 
places  do  we  find  it  applied  by  Christians  thematlves  to  one  another.  It 
is  mentioned  as  a  name  first  given  to  tlie  disciples  at  Antioch  in  Syria, 
doubtless  by  the  Romans,  as  the  word  is  of  Latin  formation.     King 


CORRUPTIONS  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  117 

church.  It  was  not,  of  course,  that  they  were  ashamed 
of  it:  but  they  seem  to  have  chosen  not  to  adopt  any 
new  title,  but  to  confine  themselves  to  those  which  had 
been  applied  to  God's  People  of  old  ;  in  order  to  point 
out  that  He  had  now  admitted  Gentiles  into  the  num- 
ber. 

The  Israelites  had  always  been  called  "  brethren," 
being  of  one  race.  They  are  also  called  a  "/icZ^" 
people  ("saints"),  as  being  dedicated  to  the  Lord; 
and  his  "chosen"  ["elect"]  People.  And  hence 
Christians  are  called  "the  brethren,"  the  "elect,"  and 
"  saints,"  (a/ioj)  that  is  holy^  as  being  dedicated  at  bap- 
tism to  the  Lord  Jesus. 

One  necessary  circumstance  in  such  a  Dispensation, 
was,  that  it  should  not  be,  like  the  Mosaic,  a  local  reli- 
gion. The  Jews,  indeed,  clung  (and  still  cling)  to  the 
notion  that,  even  when  all  the  world  should  be  brought 
to  the  knowledge  of  the  true  God,  still  their  nation 
should  have  a  preeminence ;  and  that  the  Temple  of 
Jerusalem  should  be  the  great  centre  of  religious  wor- 
ship for  all  mankind.  And  we  know  there  are  even 
some  Christians  who  expect  that  Jesus  Christ  is  to 
return  to  this  earth  in  bodily  person,  and  reign  at 
Jerusalem  in  great  worldly  splendour  for  a  thousand 
years.  But  such  notions  are  quite  at  variance  with 
the  whole  character  of  the  Gospel,  as  described  in  our 
Sacred  Books. 

Agrippa,  again,  uses  the  word  in  speaking  to  Paul,  and  the  Apostlo 
Peter  introduces  it  as  denoting  what  was  accounted  a  crime  by  the 
heathen  rulers.  "  If  any  man  sufter  for  being  a  Christian,  let  him  not 
be  ashamed." 


118  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

The  Temple  at  Jerusalem — "  the  place  which  the 
Lord  had  chosen  to  cause  his  name  to  dwell  there,"* 
that  is,  to  manifest  his  presence — was  to  be  totally  and 
finally  destroyed.  And  Jesus  declared,  that  "  where- 
soever even  two  or  three  should  be  gathered  together 
in  his  name,  He  would  be  there  in  the  midst  of  them." 
And  hence,  a  christian  congregation — not  a  literal 
building — was  to  be  henceforth  a  portion  of  the  tem- 
ple of  the  MOST  HIGH. 

"  Know  ye  not,"  says  the  Apostle  Paul,  "  that  your 
bodies  are  a  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  dwelleth 
in  you?"  (1  Cor.  vi.  19.) 

And  as  the  collective  body  of  worshippers  was  call- 
ed a  temple^  so  the  individual  Christians  are  called 
''  living  stones'^  of  God's  temple.  "  Ye  as  living  stones, 
are  builded  together  into  an  holy  temple  to  the  Lord" 
(1  Peter  ii.  6).  Hence  arose  the  use  of  the  word 
"  edify,"  (o(xo(Jo|uls:v)  literally  "  to  build  up" — as  applied 
to  christian  instruction  and  exhortation. 

While  Jesus  Christ  was  on  earth  in  bodily  person, 
HE  was  the  temple  of  the  Lord;  inasmuch  as  "in 
Him  dwelleth  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily" 
(Col.  ii.  9).      And  accordingly.  He  not  only  speaks 

*  There  are  two  words  in  the  original  which  are  both  translated 
"Temple,"  '\tp6v^  that  is,  the  "sacred  place,"  which  included  the 
courts  of  the  Temple;  and  N/ids  (from  Nat'w,  "to  dwell"),  the  "House 
of  God,"  which  was  the  building  in  which  sacrifices  were  offered.  For 
this  was  the  main  purpose  of  a  temple ;  which  was  not  (like  the  syna- 
gogues, and  like  our  churches  and  chapels)  a  place  for  religious  assem- 
blies. 

Njoj  is  the  word  used  by  our  Lord  when  he  calls  his  body  a  temple, 
and  by  Paul,  when  he  applies  it  to  Christians. 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  119 

expressly  "  of  the  temple  of  his  body"*  (John  ii.  21), 
but  makes  several  allusionsf  (which  are  often  over- 
looked) to  this  character  of  Himself. 

And  this,  by  the  way,  is  a  clear  proof  of  his  claim- 
ing a  divine  character.  For  the  Jews  understood  (as 
He  well  knew)  by  "  the  temple  of  the  Lord,"  not  a 
synagogue, — a  place  of  assembly  for  worshippers,  but 
"  the  habitation  where  his  honour  (glor}^)  dwelleth." 

And  it  is  worth  remarking,  that  they  also  under- 
stood his  calling  Himself  the  "  Son  of  God,"  and  say- 
ing, "that  God  was  his  own  proper^  Father,"  as  a 
claim  to  be  a  divine  person.  His  words,  indeed, 
might,  in  themselves,  conceivably,  bear  another  mean- 
ing. But  He  must  have  known  that  they  so  under- 
stood Him.  And  if  they  had  mistaken  his  meaning, 
He  would  not  have  failed  to  correct  their  mistake: 
else  He  would  have  been  bearing  false  witness  against 
Himself. 

They  rightly  understood  Him,  therefore,  to  be  claim- 
ing a  divine  character.  And  thereupon  they  pro- 
nounced him  guilty  of  blasphemy  (Matt.  xxvi.  65), 
and  liable  to  death  by  their  Law  (Deut.  xviii.  20),  as 
teaching  men  to  worship  another  besides  the  true  God. 

For  they  did  not  expect  that  the  Christ  was  to  be  a 
divine  person ;  as  is  plain  from  their  being  unable  to 
solve  the  question  which  Jesus  put  to  them,  about 
David's  calling  him  LORD  (Mark  xii.  87).     When 

*   iXeyc  irepi  tov  vaoii  tov  adjfiinoi  avroy. 

f  So  the  Evangelist — "The  Word  became  flesh  and  tabernacled" 
{iaKftviiitTc)  not  merely  dioelt^  as  in  our  version,  "among  us," 
\   narcpa  'iSiuv.      John  V.  18. 


120 


therefore,  they  understood  Him  to  "make  Himself 
God"  (John  x.  83),  this  was  so  far  from  favouring 
their  belief  in  him  as  the  Christ,  that  it  convinced 
them  of  his  being  a  false  pretender  and  a  blasphemer. 

When  Jesus  departed  from  the  earth,  He  sent  to  his 
disciples  the  promised  "Comforter,"  to  abide  with 
them  for  ever ;  even  the  Holy  Spirit,  whose  temple  is 
the  whole  body  of  Christians  throughout  the  world. 
And  every  christian  congregation,  as  has  been  already 
observed,  is  a  portion  of  this  temple  ;  each  individual 
Christian  being  called  in  Scripture  a  "living  stone" 
of  it. 

But  our  Lord  takes  care  to  make  his  disciples  under- 
stand that  it  is  not  a  different  Being  they  are  to  look 
for,  and  who  is  to  be  their  new  Master ;  but  a  differ- 
ent manifestation  of  the  same  God ; — a  return  of  their 
Master  to  them  under  a  new  character.  For  He  says 
expressly,  "  I  will  not  leave  you  comfortless^  I  will  come 
unto  you:" — "/will  see  you  again;  and  your  heart 
shall  rejoice  ;  and  your  joy  no  man  takethfrom  youf 
"  if  any  man  love  me,  he  will  keep  my  saying,  and  my 
Father  will  love  him ;  and  We  will  come  unto  him, 
and  make  our  abode  with  hivfiP  And  the  like,  in  seve- 
ral other  passages. 

And  the  Apostles,  accordingly,  speak  of  "the 
LORD  (that  is,  Jesus  Christ)  being  the  8pirif  (2  Cor. 
iii.  17),  and  assure  us  that  "  if  any  man  have  not  the 
Spirit  of  Christ,  he  is  none  of  his."     (Rom.  viii.  9.) 

The  same  God,  then,  who,  to  the  Israelites,  was 
made  known  only  as  Creator  and  Governor  (God  the 
Father),  was  afterwards  manifested  to  Christians  as 


CORRUPTIONS  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  121 


being  also  the  Redeemer  (God  the  Son),  and  the  Sanc- 
tijier  (God  the  Holy  Ghost) :  and  He  is  to  be  acknow- 
ledged by  them  in  this  threefold  manifestation,  accord- 
ing to  our  Saviour's  injunction  to  "baptise  in*  the 
Name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy 
Ghost." 

There  have  been,  therefore,  in  all,  three  Temples  of 
the  ONE  GOD ;  first,  under  the  Old  Dispensation,  the 
Temple  at  Jerusalem ;  secondly,  during  the  abode  on 
earth  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  "  the  Temple  of  his  Body ;" 
and,  thirdly,  (that  which  is  also  often  called  Christ's 
body,)  (Eph.  iv.  12,  16),  the  holy  Catholic  or  Univer- 
sal Church,  comprising  all  believers  throughout  the 
world. 

This  third  and  final  manifestation  of  the  ONE  GOD 
plainly  belongs  to  a  Dispensation  characterised  (as  we 
have  said)  by  UNIVERSALITY. 

Another  distinguishing  feature  of  the  New  Dispen- 
sation, was,  as  has  been  said,  its  UNITY  (or  Oneness) ; 
by  which  we  mean,  that  it  not  only  admits  all  man- 
kind to  christian  privileges,  but  all  of  them  to  equal 
privileges.  "  There  is,"  as  the  Apostle  expresses  it, 
"one  Lord,  one  faith,  one  baptism."  "There  is 
neither  Greek,  nor  Jew,  barbarian,  Scythian,  bond- 
man, or  freeman."   (Eph.  iv.  5,  and  Col.  iii.  11.) 

This  christian  unity  (svoV^^)  is  often  alluded  to,  and 
earnestly  dwelt  on,  by  our  Sacred  writers.  But  the 
passages  relating  to  it  are  sometimes  imperfectly 
understood,  or  entirely  mistaken. 

It  docs  not  mean  agreement  in  doctrine^  nor  jqX  con- 

*  More  properly  to  or  into  the  Name,  eh  to  Stoita. 

6 


122  KISE,    PEOGRESS,    AND 

cord  and  mutual  good-will ;  though  these  are  strongly 
insisted  on  by  the  Apostles.  But  the  unity  which 
they  speak  of  is  something  distinct  from  these. 

Nor,  again,  does  it  mean  that  all  Christians  belong, 
or  ought  to  belong,  to  some  one  society  on  earth.  For 
this  is  what  the  Apostles  never  aimed  at,  and  what 
never  was  actually  the  state  of  things,  from  the  time 
that  the  christian  religion  extended  beyond  the  city 
of  Jerusalem. 

The  teaching  of  Scripture  upon  this  subject, 
clearly  is,  that  believers  on  earth  are  part  of  a  great 
society  (church  or  congregation),  of  which  the  Head 
is  in  heaven,  and  of  which  many  of  the  members  only 
"  live  unto  God,"  or  exist  in  his  counsels, — some  hav- 
ing long  since  departed,  and  some  being  not  yet  born. 
Of  such  a  community  the  centre  cannot  possibly  be  on 
earth ;  and  accordingly,  the  Apostle  Paul  expressly 
distinguishes  the  christian  church  [assembly  or  con- 
gregation] sxxXyjCia,  from  that  of  Israel : — "  Ye  [that 
is,  ye  Christians]  are  not  come  to  the  mount  that 
might  be  touched ;  [as  the  Israelites  were  collected  in 
a  great  assembly  (those  of  them  that  were  alive  that  day) 
round  Sinai,  as  a  holy  place  on  earth]  ....  but  ye 
are  come  to  Mount  Sion,  and  unto  the  city  of  the 
living  God,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem^  and  to  an  innumer- 
able company  of  angels,  to  the  general  assembly  and 
church  of  the  first-born,  which  are  written  in  heaven, 
and  to  God  the  Judge  of  all,  and  to  the  spirits  of  just 
men  made  perfect,  and  to  Jesus  the  mediator  of  the 
new  covenant "  (Heb.  xii.  18-24).  So,  in  the  Epistle 
to  the  Galatians, — "  Mount  Sinai  answereth  to  Jeru- 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  123 

salem  which  now  is,  and  is  in  bondage  with  her 
children  ;  but  Jerusalem  luliich  is  above  is  free,  which 
is  the  mother  of  us  all."     (Gal.  iv.  25,  26.) 

The  Universal  Church  of  Christ  may  therefore  be 
said  to  be  ONE  in  reference  to  HIM,  its  supreme 
Head  in  heaven;  but  it  is  not  one  Community  on  earth. 
And  even  so  the  Human  race  is  one^  in  respect  of  the 
one  Creator  and  Governor ;  but  this  does  not  make  it 
one  Family,  or  one  State. 

All  men,  again,  ought  to  live  in  peace^  and  to  be 
kindly  disposed  towards  every  fellow-creature.  And 
all  are  bound  to  agree  in  thinking  and  doing  whatever 
is  right.  But  they  are  not  at  all  bound  to  live  under 
one  single  government^  extending  over  the  whole  World. 
Nor,  again,  are  all  nations  bound  to  have  the  same  form 
of  government,  regal  or  republican,  &c.  That  is  a 
matter  left  to  their  discretion.  But  all  are  bound  to 
do  their  best  to  promote  the  great  objects  for  which  all 
government  is  instituted ; — good  order,  security  of 
person  and  property,  justice,  and  public  prosperity. 

And  even  so  the  Apostles  founded  christian  com- 
munities, all  based  on  the  same  principles^  and  having 
the  same  object  in  view,  but  quite  independent  of  each 
other,  and  having  no  one  common  Head  on  Earth. 

The  Apostles,  indeed,  exercised  a  general  govern- 
ment over  the  various  churches  which  they  founded  ; 
but  it  does  not  appear  that  they  appointed  any  person 
to  succeed  them  in  that  general  government.  We  read 
of  their  appointing  "Elders  in  every  city,"  but  we  do 
not  read  of  their  setting,  or  intending  to  set,  any  one 
over  the  ivhole  Church. 


124:  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

Any  one  who  looks  at  the  account  of  Paul's  taking 
leave  of  the  Elders  of  Ephesus  and  Miletus  (Acts  xx.), 
luhom  he  expected  never  to  see  again^  will  plainly  see 
that  he  could  not  possibly  have  had  any  notion  of  any 
supreme  central  autJwrity^  lodged  either  in  the  church 
of  Jerusalem,  or  of  Kome,  or  in  Peter  and  his  succes- 
sors, or  in  any  General  Council  For  he  there  directly 
foretells  that  false  teachers  should  arise  out  of  their 
own  body  [that  is,  from  amongst  the  clergy],  and 
anxiously  impresses  on  them  the  best  advice  he  could 
think  of  for  guarding  against  such  a  danger.  Yet  that 
advice  is  only  to  watch^  and  rememher  ivhat  he  had 
taught  them.  This  seems  to  imply  that  each  particular 
church  was  left  sufficient  means  within  itself  of  ascer- 
taining the  true  doctrine  of  Christ,  continuing,  and 
preserving  it;  but  that  the  actual  preservation  of  such 
doctrine  depended  on  the  loatchfidness  of  the  churches 
themselves.  For  the  occasion  was  one  on  which  he  could 
not  have  failed  to  bid  them  have  recourse,  in  case  of 
any  difficulties  or  disputes  among  themselves  (such  as 
he  actually  foresaw),  to  some  central  Authority,  if  any 
such  had  existed,  or  were  to  be  set  up. 

Nor  does  the  Apostle  Peter  (though  writing  his 
Second  Epistle  in  the  near  prospect  of  death  (2  Pet.  i. 
14,  15),  and  anxious  to  provide  a  record  of  his  teach- 
ing that  might  last  after  his  decease),  say  a  word  to 
the  disciples  of  the  duty  of  submitting  to  his  succes- 
sors ;  but  refers  them  back  for  guidance  to  the  words 
of  the  holy  prophets,  and  the  commandments  of  the 
apostles,  and  to  his  own  letters,  and  to  those  of  Paul. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  Revelation  of  John,  too,  we 


CORRUPllONS  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  125 

find  the  Lord  addressing  each  of  ilit  seven  churches  of 
Asia  as  severally  independent  of  any  earthly  power, 
and  responsible  to  Him  alone  for  their  conduct  as 
christian  churches. 

It  is  plain,  therefore,  that  the  christian  Unity  spoken 
of  in  Scripture  did  not  consist  in  the  placing  of  all 
Christians  in  one  Society  under  one  government  on 
Earth. 

It  consisted  (as  we  have  said)  in  the  admission  of 
all  men  to  equal  christian  privileges,  instead  of  having 
two  or  more  different  kinds  or  degrees  of  Christianity, 
for  different  classes  of  persons. 

Now,  there  did  exist  something  of  this  kind  under 
the  Mosaic  Dispensation.  The  "devout  Gentiles" 
(sometimes  called  "  Proselytes*  of  the  Gate "),  were 
admitted  to  worship  in  tlie  outer  court  of  the  Temple, 
and  to  frequent  the  Synagogues.  Those  v»'ho  had 
embraced  the  whole  Mosaic  Law  (who  were  called 
"Proselytes  of  righteousness")  were  accounted  as 
ranking  higher  than  the  others,  and  next  in  holiness 
to  the  Israelites  by  birth.  Then,  of  the  born  Israelites, 
the  Levites  were  more  especially  dedicated  to  the  Lord 
than  those  of  the  other  Tribes,  and  were  employed  in 
his  immediate  Service  about  the  Tabernacle,  or  the 
Temple.  Of  the  Levites  themselves  again,  the  family 
of  Aaron  were  alone  admissible  to  the  priesthood. 
And  lastly,  of  the  Priests  themselves,  none  except  the 
high  priest  was  permitted  to  enter  the  Holy  of  Holies, 
— where  he  offered  the  yearly  sacrifice  on  the  great 
day  of  atonement. 

*  irpoatj'Xvrsi,  one  who  ccynies  over  to  some  religion  or  religious  sect. 


126 


And  these  several  gradations,  it  is  to  be  observed, 
are  something  quite  different  from  the  various  degrees 
of  moral  worth  and  piety,  or  of  intelligence  and  know- 
ledge, in  individuals. 

One  Israelite  (and  the  like  may  be  said  of  Christians) 
might  exceed  another  of  the  same  Tribe  and  Family, 
in  pious  obedience  to  the  Lord  ;  and  a  third  might 
surpass  them  both.  But  these  differences  would  not 
be  distinctions  introduced  hy  the  Mosaic  Religion  ;  but 
merely  those  of  the  individual  characters  of  those  men. 
And  again,  a  pious  Israelite,  of  superior  understanding, 
and  of  a  reflecting  turn  of  mind,  and  of  more  exten- 
sive knowledge  than  the  generality,  would  have  a 
clearer,  and  more  intelligent,  and  more  comprehensive 
view  of  some  parts  of  the  Revelation  given  him,  and 
of  God's  Providence  generally,  than  another,  equally 
pious,  but  of  humbler  powers  and  attainments.  And 
the  like  must  be  the  case  with  Christians  also. 

But  these  differences  between  one  man  and  another, 
are  such  as  we  find  to  exist  in  reference  to  all  subjects, 
and  do  not  particularly  pertain  to  the  Mosaic  system 
of  Religion ;  not  being  introduced  and  created  by  it. 

Those  distinctions,  on  the  contrary,  which  were 
noticed  just  above,  are  such  as  did  specially  belong 
to  the  religion  of  Moses,  and  formed  a  part  of  the  Dis- 
pensation. 

The  Grospel,  on  the  other  hand,  admitted  of  no  such 
gradations  as  those  established  under  the  Law. 

Various  Officers,  indeed,  were  appointed  in  the 
christian  churches ;  because  no  Society  can  subsist 
without  them.     But  all  persons,  of  whatever  Race  or 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  127 

Family,  were  admissible,  if  properly  qualified,  to  any 
Office. 

And  again,  (as  was  said  just  above,)  men  of  superior 
intelligence  and  mental  cultivation,  will  be  able,  by 
piously  and  humbly  employing  their  powers  in  the 
study  (among  other  things)  of  the  christian  Scriptures, 
to  take  a  clearer  and  more  intelligent  view  of  the 
Gospel  revelation,  than  those  of  ordinary  abilities  and 
education  ;  provided  they  are  careful  not  to  indulge 
in  rash  conjectures  respecting  things  beyond  human 
reason,  and  which  God  has  not  thought  fit  to  reveal. 

Such  men,  if  they  do  use  this  care,  will  find  that 
the  more  they  advance  in  general  cultivation  of  mind, 
the  more  will  the  prospect  of  divine  wisdom  and  good- 
ness ~  spread  around  them;  the  horizon,  as  it  were, 
extending  itself  in  proportion  to  their  elevation. 

But  this  (as  was  observed  above)  is  a  kind  of 
distinction  between  man  and  man,  which  was  not  intro- 
duced hy  the  Gospel^  but  takes  place  in  all  subjects. 

Nor  does  such  a  distinction  make  one  man  more  a 
Christian^  properly  speaking,  than  another.  In  fact, 
a  learned  Philosopher  would  be  a  worse  Christian  than 
pious  men  of  ordinary  ability  and  education,  if  he 
were  content  to  remain,  in  point  of  religious  know- 
ledge, just  on  a  level  with  these,  while  in  all  other 
matters  he  was  intellectually  superior  to  them.  He 
would  be  like  a  person  offering  as  the  tithe  of  an 
increased  produce,  the  same  absolute  amount  as  would 
be  a  fair  proportion  from  a  smaller  or  less  fertile 
field. 

And  in  respect  of  piety  of  sentiment,   also,  and 


128 


purity  of  conduct,  one  man  may  be  a  better  Christian 
than  another,  that  is,  he  may  make  a  better  use  of  his 
christian  privileges.  But  the  Gospel  itself  does  not 
exclude  any  man  from  any  christian  privileges  to 
which  it  admits  others. 

This  is  one  of  the  points  wherein  (as  has  been  said) 
it  differs  from  the  Mosaic  Law. 

And  this  feature  of  the  Gospel  was  one  which 
proved  a  great  stumbling-block  to  the  Jews.  They 
could  not  easily  reconcile  themselves  to  the  thought 
of  Gentiles  being  placed  completely  on  a  level  with 
them.  And  they  clung  to  the  idea  that  the  Jews  by 
Kace  must  continue  to  be  in  an  especial  manner  God's 
peculiar  People,  even  when  both  they  and  the  Gen- 
tiles should  have  become  subjects  of  Christ's  king- 
dom. And  even  among  the  Gentile  Christians  them- 
selves, there  seems  to  have  been  a  tendency  to  consi- 
der the  different  "spiritual  [miraculous]  gifts"  be- 
stowed on  different  persons,  as  dividing  Christians 
into  so  many  distinct  Orders.  This  tendency  we  find 
the  Apostle  Paul  earnestly  contending  against  in 
several  parts  of  his  writings ;  especially  in  1  Cor.  xii. 

The  miraculous  gifts  were  bestowed  not  for  the 
benefit  of  the  possessor,  but  of  the  Church.  And 
they  did  not  either  prove  the  possessor  to  be  pecu- 
liarly acceptable  to  God,  or  necessarily  make  him  so. 
For  Judas  Iscariot,  who  afterwards  betrayed  his  Mas- 
ter, had  been  endowed,  along  with  the  other  Apostles, 
with  miraculous  powers.  And  our  Lord  declares  that 
He  will  say,  at  the  Day  of  Judgment,  to  some  who 
should  boast  of  having,  in  his  Name,    "done  many 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  129 


mighty  works,"  "  I  know  you  not ;  depart  from  me  all 
ye  workers  of  iniquity." 

Yet  in  all  ages  of  the  Church,  there  has  been  a 
tendency,  more  or  less,  to  draw  some  unwarranted 
distinctions  between  ordinary  Christians,  and  those 
to  whom  the  name  of  Saints  has  been  confined, 
either  from  their  having  been  inspired,  Hke  the  Evan- 
gelists and  Apostles,  or  from  their  being  supposed  to 
possess  some  extraordinary  personal  holiness,  beyond 
what  is  expected  of  Christians  generally. 

The  Apostles,  on  the  contrary,  (as  was  observed 
above,)  call  all  Christians  "  Saints ;"  as  being  all  dedi- 
cated to  Christ  in  Baptism,  and  all  admitted  to  be 
equal  partakers  (as  far  as  relates  to  their  own  holiness 
of  character,  and  power  of  becoming  acceptable  to 
God)  of  his  sanctifying  Spirit.  There  is  no  hint  given 
that  a  less  degree  of  personal  holiness  will  suffice  for 
us,  than  for  an  Apostle ;  and  Peter  or  Paul,  however 
superior  to  us  in  their  miraculous  gifts,  yet  called 
themselves  Saints  in  reference  not  to  any  thing  ^^ecw- 
liar  to  them,  but  to  what  was  common  to  them  with 
us. 

Nevertheless,  one  may  find  persons,  even  now,  who 
seem  to  regard  Christianity  as  not,  in  reality,  one  reli- 
gion, but  two ;  one,  for  persons  of  pre-eminent  holi- 
ness, or  who  are  admitted  to  certain  superior  chris- 
tian privileges,  beyond  the  generality;  and  the  other 
for  the  multitude;  who  are  to  believe  implicitly 
whatever  the  most  eminent  Saints  think  fit  to  impart, 
and  to  do  whatever  they  bid  them. 

But  nothing  can  be  more  at  variance  than  such  a 
6* 


130  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

notion  is  with  the  whole  character  of  the  Gospel  Dis- 
pensation. For  this  was  designed  as  a  revelation  to 
men  of  all  classes,  in  every  tolerably-civilized  coun- 
try. And  the  endeavour  of  the  Apostles  was  to 
"  make  known  the  mystery  of  the  Gospel"  to  all^  in 
proportion  as  they  were  able  and  willing  to  receive  it. 
And  they  laboured,  by  assiduous  instruction  and  ex- 
hortation, to  make  men,  more  and  more,  thus  able  and 
willing.  They  urged  them  "  to  grow  in  grace  and  in 
the  knowledge  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  And  they 
reckoned  themselves  to  be  "  pure  from  the  blood  of 
all  men,"  only  inasmuch  as  they  "  had  not  shunned 
to  declare  to  them  all  the  counsel  of  God." 

When  we  look  back  to  these  distinguishing  points 
in  the  Gospel  Dispensation  which  have  been  here 
noticed — its  Spirituality^  Universality^  and  Unity — as 
well  as  to  several  other  remarkable  features  of  it,  we 
cannot  but  perceive  what  a  strong  confirmation  they 
afford  of  its  divine  origin. 

It  was  altogether  the  most  unlikely  thing  to  have 
occurred  to  the  mind  of  any  man,  whether  dreaming 
enthusiast  or  crafty  impostor.  And  of  all  men,  Jews 
were  the  most  unlikely  to  have  imagined  anything  of 
the  kind.  Indeed,  the  great  stumbling-block  to  the 
Jews  was  its  being  so  utterly  at  variance  (as  has  been 
remarked  above)  with  all  their  most  deeply-rooted 
prejudices,  and  all  their  long-cherished  hopes. 

But  it  was  almost  equally  at  variance  with  many 
of  the  notions  of  the  Heathen  also.  And  these  latter 
had  nearly  as  much  difficulty  in  receiving  a  religion 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  131 


from  Jews — a  people  generally  despised  by  them — as 
the  Jews  had,  in  acknowledging  the  "Gentiles"  as 
fellow-heirs  with  themselves.  And  both  parties — 
Jews  and  Gentiles — had  never  conceived  an  idea  of 
such  a  thing  as  a  religion  without  any  literal  Temjple^ 
without  an  Altar ^  without  Sacrifices,  and  without  any 
Sacrificing  Priest  on  earth. 

Such  a  Religion  could  never  have  been  invented,  in 
those  days,  by  any  man,  Jew  or  Gentile ;  and  could 
never  have  been  established  throughout  the  chief  part 
of  the  civilised  World,  except  by  the  overpowering 
force  of  miraculous  proofs. 


ESTABLISHMENT  OF  CHRIST'S  KING- 
DOM. 

When  the  bodily  presence  of  our  Divine  Master 
w^as  withdrawn  from  the  earth,  his  Apostles  pro- 
ceeded, according  to  his  directions,  to  establish  "the 
kingdom  of  heaven,"  over  which  He  had  placed  them, 
saying,  "  I  appoint  unto  you  a  kingdom,  as  my  Fa- 
ther hath  appointed  unto  me." 

For,  that  Gospel  which  had  been  proclaimed  by 
Himself  and  his  disciples,  during  his  personal  minis- 
try, was,  that  "  the  kingdom  of  heaven  was  at  lianciy 
That  kingdom  was  tlien  only  in  preparation.  It  was 
not  completely  begun,  till  the  Apostles,  after  the  out- 


182 


pouring  on  them  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  on  the  day  of 
Pentecost,  founded  at  Jerusalem  the  first  christian 
church,  and  baptised  into  the  Name  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  about  three  thousand  persons,  who  were  thus 
enrolled  as  subjects  of  that  kingdom. 

The  number  of  these  in  Jerusalem  increased  ra- 
pidly. Other  churches  were  established  in  Judea,  in 
Galilee,  in  Samaria,  and  elsewhere.  And  a  few  years 
after,  the  apostles  having  learnt  by  an  express  reve- 
lation— quite  contrary  to  their  own  expectations — 
that  Gentiles  were  to  be  admitted  on  equal  terms, 
as  subjects  of  Christ's  kingdom,  great  numbers  of 
churches,  consisting  chiefly  of  these,  arose  in  various 
parts  of  the  world. 

Although,  however,  mention  is  made  in  Scripture 
of  several  of  these  churches,  we  have  only  incidental, 
slight,  and  scanty  accounts  of  the  way  in  which  the 
Apostles  proceeded  in  founding  them.  Very  few 
particulars  are  given  of  the  regulations  established, — 
of  the  appointment  of  the  several  Orders  of  Ministers, 
— of  the  Divine  service  celebrated, — or,  in  short,  of 
any  of  the  details  of  matters  pertaining  to  a  christian 
church. 

One  reason  for  this,  probably,  was,  that  a  Jewish 
Synagogue,  or  a  collection  of  Synagogues  in  the  same 
neighbourhood,  became  at  once  a  christian  Churchy  as 
soon  as  the  worshippers,  or  a  considerable  portion  of 
them,  had  embraced  the  Gospel,  and  had  separated 
themselves  from  unbelievers.  They  had  only  to 
make  such  additions  to  their  public  Service,  and  such 
alterations,  as  were  required  by  their  reception  of  the 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  133 


Gospel ;  leaving  everything  else  as  it  was.  For,  the 
Apostles,  we  know,  acted  on  the  rule  of  "  becoming 
all  things  to  all  men ;"  that  is,  of  complying  with 
men's  habits,  and  avoiding  all  shock  to  their  feelings, 
as  far  as  this  could  be  done  without  any  sacrifice  of 
principle,  or  detriment  to  the  great  objects  proposed. 
It  is  incredible,  therefore,  especially  considering  that 
for  several  years  the  only  converts  were  persons  fre- 
quenting the  synagogues, — Jews  or  devout  Gentiles, 
— that  they  should  have  utterly  disregarded  all  the 
existing  and  long-reverenced  Institutions  and  Offices, 
which  could  so  easily  be  accommodated  to  the  New- 
Dispensation.  To  have  established  everything  on  a 
perfectly  new  system,  through  mere  love  of  novelty, 
— to  have  erected,  as  it  were,  a  fresh  building  from 
the  very  ground,  when  there  was  one  standing  which 
with  small  and  easy  alterations  w^ould  answer  all  the 
same  purposes,  would  have  been  to  raise  up,  wantonly, 
difficulties  and  obstacles  to  their  own  success.  They 
did  not  indeed,  no  doubt,  think  themselves  bound  or 
authorised,  to  adhere  blindly  to  existing  institutions 
in  any  points  in  which  these  were  at  variance  with 
the  spirit  of  the  Gospel,  or  were  capable  of  being 
changed  for  the  better :  and  doubtless  they  introduced 
from  time  to  time,  (and  designed  that  their  successors 
should  do  the  same,)  such  alterations  in  the  functions 
of  the  several  officers,  and  in  all  regulations  respect- 
ing other  non-essential  points,  as  circumstances  of 
time  and  place  might  require.  But  we  cannot  sup- 
pose that  they  aimed  at  originality  for  its  own  sake, 
or  altered  for  the  sake  of  altering.     And  the  cori"cs- 


134  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

pondence,  accordingly,  which  has  been  traced  by  learn- 
ed men  between  the  Synagogue  and  the  Church,  is  no 
more  than  what  we  might  antecedently  have  expected. 

The  attempt  to  effect  this  conversion  of  a  Jewish 
synagogue  into  a  christian  church,  seems  always  to 
have  been  made,  in  the  first  instance,  in  every  place 
where  there  was  an  opening  for  it.  Even  after  the 
call  of  the  idolatrous  Gentiles,  it  appears  plainl}^  to 
have  been  the  practice  of  the  Apostles  Paul  and  Bar- 
nabas, when  they  came  to  any  city  in  which  there 
was  a  synagogue,  to  go  thither  first  and  deliver  their 
sacred  message  to  the  Jews,  and  "  devout  (or  prose- 
lyte) Gentiles;" — according  to  their  own  expression 
(Acts  xiii.  16) ;  to  the  "  men  of  Israel,"  and  those 
'■'' that  feared  God f^ — adding,  that  "it  was  necessary 
that  the  word  of  God  should  first  be  preached  to  them." 

And  when  they  founded  a  church  in  any  of  those 
cities  in  which  (and  such  were  probably  a  very  large 
majority)  there  was  no  Jewish  Synagogue  that  receiv- 
ed the  Gospel,  it  is  likely  they  would  still  conform  in 
a  great  measure  to  the  same  model. 

Now,  Jewish  synagogues,  and  all  things  pertaining 
to  them,  were  so  familiarly  known  in  the  days  of  our 
sacred  writers,  that  there  was  no  need  to  enter  into 
any  minute  particulars  respecting  the  officers,  regula- 
tions, and  practices  of  a  sjmagogue. 

Nevertheless,  it  seems  probable  that  we  should  have 
found  in  Scripture  something  more  than  we  do  find, 
of  incidental  notices  of  some  of  these  particulars,  if 
there  had  not  been  some  especial  reason  for  omitting 
them. 


CORRUPTIONS   OF  CHRISTIANITY.  135 

The  same  may  be  said  with  respect  to  the  Creeds, 
Catecliisms,  and  Forms  of  Prayer,  and  of  administer- 
ing the  Sacraments,  which  were  in  use  in  the  days  of 
the  Apostles.  We  have  no  record  in  Scripture  of  any 
of  these.  And  yet  the  more  we  reflect  on  the  subject, 
viewing  not  merely  the  abstract  probabilities  of  the 
case,  but  also  what  has  actually  occurred  in  respect  of 
other  religions,  the  more  strongly  we  shall  feel  that 
the  first  founders  of  a  religion  might  naturally  have 
been  expected  to  have  transmitted  to  posterity  some, 
more  or  less  systematic,  compositions,  sucli  as  we  have 
been  speaking  of 

For  if  we  look,  for  instance,  to  the  Koran,  we  find 
Mahomet,  in  the  midst  of  much  extraneous  matter, 
fitted  only  to  gratify  the  appetite  for  the  marvellous, 
inserting,  however,  also,  not  only  a  precise  description 
of  the  Mahometan  Faith,  but  likewise  minute  direc- 
tions concerning  Fasts,  Prayers,  Ablutions, — the 
amount  of  Alms, — and  all  other  points  of  the  Mussul- 
man's service  of  Grod.  The  same  is  represented  to  be 
the  character  of  the  Hindoo  Shaster,  and  other  Pagan 
books  professing  to  contain  a  divine  revelation  of  any 
system  of  religion. 

And  that  there  is  nothing  in  the  christian  religion, 
considered  in  itself,  that  stands  in  the  way  of  such  a 
procedure,  is  plain  from  the  number  of  works  of  this 
description  which  have  appeared  from  the  earliest 
times,  {after  the  age  of  inspiration^Y'  down  to  the  pre- 

*  A  proof,  it  should  be  observed,  is  thus  adbrded,  that  the  New 
Testament  Books  are  no  foi-gery  of  the  early  Christians,  since  these 


186 


sent; — from  the  writings  entitled  tlie  "Apostles' 
Creed,"  and  the  "Apostolical  Constitutions,"  &c.  (com- 
positions of  uncertain  authors,  and  amidst  the  variety 
of  opinions  respecting  them,  never  regarded  as  Scrip- 
tare),  down  to  the  modern  Formularies  and  Confes- 
sions of  Faith. 

Nor,  again,  can  it  be  said  that  there  was  anything  in 
the  founders  of  the  religion,  any  more  than  in  the 
religion  itself,  which,  humanly  speaking,  should  seem 
likely  to  preclude  them  from  transmitting  to  us  such 
compositions.  On  the  contrary,  the  Apostles  were 
brought  up  Jews :  accustomed,  in  their  earliest  notions 
of  religion,  to  refer  to  the  Books  of  the  Law,  as  contain- 
ing precise  statements  of  their  belief,  and  most  minute 
directions  as  to  religious  worship  and  ceremonies. 
So  that,  to  give  complete  and  regular  instructions  as 
to  the  character  and  the  requisitions  of  the  new  religion, 
as  it  would  have  been  natural  for  any  one,  was  more 
especially  to  be  expected  of  these  men. 

And  even  supposing  that  the  other  avocations  of 
the  Apostles  would  not  allow  any  of  them  leisure  for 

would  have  been  sure  to  insert  what  we  do  find  in  their  own  acknow- 
ledged writings,  and  which  is  altogetlier  wanting  in  the  Sacred 
Books 

The  same  inference  may  be  drawn  from  a  fact  which  we  have  alrea- 
dy spoken  of,  the  entire  absence  in  the  New  Testament  of  the  title  of 
Christians,  as  applied  by  themselves  to  each  other.  It  seems  to  have 
been  adopted  by  Christians  very  early ;  probably  soon  after  the  de- 
struction of  Jerusalem ;  and  if  the  Books  of  the  New  Testament  had 
been  forged  or  interpolated  by  them,  at  that,  or  at  any  subsequent 
period,  tliere  can  be  no  doubt  we  should  have  found  it  frequently  so 
employed  therein 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  137 

such  compositions, — thougli  we  know  that  some  of 
them  did  find  time  for  writing,  two  of  them  not  a  lit- 
tle,— even  this  supposition  does  not  at  all  explain  the 
difficulty ;  for  the  Acts  and  two  of  the  Gospels  were 
written  by  men  who  were  only  attendants  on  the 
Apostles.  Nor  would  such  writings  as  we  are  speak- 
ing of  have  required  an  inspired  penman ;  only  one 
who  had  access  to  persons  thus  gifted.  We  know 
with  what  care  the  Apostolic  Epistles  were  preserved, 
first  by  the  churches  to  which  they  were  respectively 
sent,  and  afterwards,  by  the  others  also,  as  soon  as  they 
received  copies.  How  comes  it,  then,  that  no  one  of 
the  Elders  (Presbj'ters)  of  any  of  these  Churches 
should  have  written  down,  and  afterwards  submitted 
to  the  revision  of  an  Apostle,  that  outline  of  cateche- 
tical instruction — that  elementary  introduction  to  the 
christian  faith — which  they  must  have  received  at  first 
from  that  Apostle's  lips,  and  have  afterwards  employ- 
ed in  the  instruction  of  their  own  converts?  Why 
did  none  of  them  record  any  of  the  prayers,  of  which 
they  must  have  heard  so  many,  from  an  Apostle's 
mouth,  both  in  the  ordinary  devotional  assemblies,  in 
the  administration  of  the  Sacraments,  and  in  the  "lay- 
ing on  of  hands,"  by  which  they  themselves  had  been 
ordained. 

Paul,  after  having  given  the  most  general  exhorta- 
tions to  the  Corinthians  for  the  preservation  of  decent 
regularity  in  their  religious  meetings,  adds,  "  the  rest 
will  I  set  in  order  when  I  come."  And  so,  doubtless, 
he  did ;  and  so  he  must  have  done,  by  verbal  direc- 
tions, in  all  the  other  churches  also:  is  it  not  strange, 


138  KISE,    PKOGRESS,   AND 

then,  that  these  verbal  directions  should  nowhere  have 
been  committed  to  writing? 

This  would  have  seemed  a  most  obvious  and  effec- 
tual mode  of  precluding  all  future  disorders  and  dis- 
putes ;  as  also  the  drawing  up  of  a  compendious  state- 
ment of  christian  doctrines,  would  have  seemed  a 
safeguard  against  the  still  more  important  evil  of 
heretical  error.  Yet  if  any  such  statements  and  for- 
mularies had  been  drawn  up,  with  the  sanction,  and 
under  the  revision  of  an  Apostle,  we  may  be  sure  they 
would  have  been  preserved  and  transmitted  to  poste- 
rity, with  the  most  scrupulous  and  reverential  care. 
The  conclusion  therefore  seems  inevitable,  that  either 
no  one  of  the  numerous  Elders  and  Catechists  ever 
thought  of  doing  this,  or  else  that  they  were  forbidden 
by  the  Apostles  to  execute  any  such  design :  and 
each  of  these  alternatives  seems  alike  inexplicable  by 
natural  causes. 

For  it  should  be  remembered  that,  when  other  points 
are  equal,  it  is  much  more  diflS.cult  to  explain  a  nega- 
tive than  a  positive  circumstance  in  our  Scriptures. 
There  is  something,  suppose,  in  the  New  Testament, 
which  the  first  promulgators  of  Christianity — consi- 
dered as  mere  unassisted  men — were  not  likely  to 
write ;  and  there  is  something  else  which  they  were, 
we  w^ill  suppose,  equally  unlikely  to  omit  writing; 
now,  these  two  difficulties  are  far  from  equal.  For 
with  respect  to  the  former,  if  we  can  make  out  that 
any  one  of  these  men  might  have  been,  by  nature  or 
by  circumstances,  qualified  and  induced  to  undertake 
the  work,  the  phenomenon  is  solved.     To  point  out 


CORRUPTIONS  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  189 

even  a  single  individual  able  and  likely  to  write  it, 
would  account  for  its  being  written.  But  it  is  not  so 
with  respect  to  the  other  case,  that  of  omission.  Here 
we  have  to  prove  a  negative; — to  show,  not  merely 
that  this  or  that  man  was  likely  not  to  write  what  we 
find  omitted,  but  that  no  one  was  likely  to  write  it. 
Suppose  we  could  make  out  the  possibility  or  probabi- 
lity of  Paul's  having  left  no  Creed,  Catechism,  or  Ca- 
nons, why  have  we  none  from  the  pen  of  Luke,  or  of 
Mark?  Suppose  this  also  explained,  why  did  not 
John  or  Peter  supply  the  deficiency?  And  w^hy, 
again,  did  none  of  the  numerous  Bishops  and  Presby- 
ters whom  they  ordained,  undertake  the  work,  under 
their  direction  ?  The  difficulty,  therefore,  in  this  case 
exceeds  the  other,  coeteris  paribus^  more  than  a  hun- 
dredfold. 

Since,  then,  no  one  of  the  first  promulgators  of  Chris- 
tianity did  that  which  tliey  must — some  of  them  at 
least — have  been  naturalhj  led  to  do,  it  follows  that 
they  must  have  been  supernaturaJhj  w'ithheld  from  it ; 
how  little  soever  we  may  be  able  even  to  conjecture 
the  object  of  the  prohibition.  For  in  respect  of  this, 
and  several  other  (humanly  speaking,  unaccountable) 
circumstances  in  our  religion,  it  is  important  to  ob- 
serve, that  the  argument  thence  derivable  in  favour  of 
the  divine  origin  of  Christianity,  does  not  turn  on  the 
supposed  ivisdom  of  this  or  that  aj^pointment,  w^hich 
we  conceive  to  be  worthy  of  the  Deity,  and  thence  in- 
fer that  the  religion  must  have  proceeded  from  Ilim ; 
but  on  the  utter  improbability  of  its  Itaving  pjroceeded 
from  Man ;  which  leaves  its  divine  origin  the  only 


140  RISE,   PROGRESS,   AND 

alternative.  The  Christian  Scriptures  considered  in 
this  point  of  view,  present  to  us  a  standing  Miracle ; 
at  least,  a  Monument  of  a  Miracle  ;  since  they  are  in 
several  points  such  as  we  may  be  sure,  according  to 
all  natural  causes,  they  would  not  have  been.  Even 
though  the  character  which  these  writings  do  in  fact 
exhibit,  be  such  as  we  cannot  clearly  account  for  on 
any  hypothesis,  still,  if  they  are  such  as  we  can  clearly 
perceive  no  false  pretenders  would  have  composed,  the 
evidence  is  complete,  though  the  difficulty  may  remain 
unexplained. 

Although,  however,  we  cannot  pretend,  in  every 
case,  to  perceive  the  reasons  for  what  God  has  ap- 
pointed, it  is  not  in  the  present  case  difficult  to  discern 
the  superhuman  wisdom  of  the  course  adopted.  If  the 
Hymns  *  and  forms  of  Prayer, — the  Catechisms, — the 
Confessions  of  faith, — and  the  Ecclesiastical  regula- 
tions, which  the  Apostles  employed,  had  been  re- 
corded, these  would  have  all  been  regarded  as  parts 
of  ScHpture :  and  even  had  they  been  accompanied  by 
the  most  express  declarations  of  the  lawfulness  of  al- 
tering or  laying  aside  any  of  them,  we  cannot  doubt 
that  they  would  have  been  in  practice  most  scrupu- 
lously retained,  even  when  changes  of  manners,  tastes, 
and  local  and  temporary  circumstances  of  every  kind, 
rendered  them  no  longer  the  most  suitable.    The  Jew- 

*  Pliny's  account  of  the  early  Christians,  derived  in  part  from  those 
who  had  belonged  to  the  Society,  mentions  that  they  recited  "  a  hymn 
to  Christ,  as  to  a  God,"  This  ancient  hymn  has  not  been  transmitted 
to  us,  so  as  to  be  recognised.  It  is  not  unlikely,  however,  that  it,  or 
some  part  of  it,  formed  the  basis  of  that  which  we  call  the  Tt  Deum. 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  141 

ish  ritual,  designed  for  one  Nation  and  Countiy,  and 
intended  to  be  of  temporary  duration,  was  fixed  and 
accurately  described.  The  same  Divine  Wisdom  from 
which  both  dispensations  proceeded,  having  designed 
Christianity  for  all  Nations  and  Ages,  left  Christians 
at  large  in  respect  of  those  points  in  which  variation 
might  be  desirable.  But  we  think  no  human  wisdom 
would  have  foreseen  and  provided  for  this.  That  a 
number  of  Jews^  accustomed  from  their  infancy  to  so 
strict  a  ritual,  should,  in  introducing  Christianity  as 
the  second  part  of  the  same  Dispensation,  have  ab- 
stained not  only  from  accurately  prescribing  for  the 
use  of  all  Christian  Churches  for  ever,  the  mode  of 
divine  worship,  but  even  from  recording  what  was  ac- 
tually in  use  under  their  own  directions,  does  seem 
utterly  incredible,  unless  we  suppose  them  to  have 
been  restrained  from  doing  this  by  a  special  admoni- 
tion of  the  Divine  Spirit. 

And  we  may  be  sure,  as  we  have  said,  that  if  they 
had  recorded  the  particulars  of  their  own  worship,  the 
very  words  they  wrote  would  have  been  invested  in 
our  minds  with  so  much  sanctity,  that  it  would  have 
been  thought  presumptuous  to  vary  or  to  omit  them, 
however  inappropriate  they  might  have  become.  The 
Lord's  Prayer,  the  only  one  of  general  application 
that  is  recorded  in  the  Scriptures,  though  so  framed 
as  to  be  suitable  in  all  Ages  and  Countries,  has  yet 
been  subjected  to  much  superstitious  abuse.  A  super- 
stitious Christian  mutters  his  "paternosters,"  as  a 
kind  of  sacred  charm,  on  all  occasions,  however  in- 
appropriate. 


142  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

In  like  manner,  the  Apostles'  Creed,  from  its  ac- 
knowledged antiquity,  together  with  the  title  it  bears, 
and  the  tradition  (probably,  in  part,  true*)  of  its  being 
the  composition  of  the  Apostles,  is  held  by  many 
Christians  in  a  kind  of  veneration  which  may  justly 
be  characterised  as  superstitious.  There  are  persons 
of  the  lower  orders,  and  some  above  the  very  lowest, 
who  are  accustomed  to  recite  it  in  their  private  devo- 
tions as  sprayer. 

No  doubt  there  must  ever  be  danger  of  all  prayer 
degenerating  into  a  superstitious  formalism  ;  but  this 
danger  must  evidently  be  increased  in  proportion  as 
the  words  uttered  are  the  less  appropriate  to  the  occa- 
sion, and  to  the  circumstances  of  the  petitioner ;  and 
this  must  inevitably  have  been  more  likely  to  take 
place  with  a  Liturgy  transmitted  to  us  from  the  times 
of  the  Apostles,  as  a  part  of  Scripture. 

With  respect  to  Catechisms  again,  —  elementary 
introductions  to  the  christian  faith, — nearly  the  same 
reasons  will  hold  good.  For  though  the  christian  reli- 
gion is  fundamentally  "  the  same  yesterday,  and  to-day, 
and  for  ever,"  it  is  impossible  that  any  one  mode  of 
introducing  its  truths  to  the  mind  of  the  catechumen, 
can  be  the  best  adapted  for  children  and  adults, — the 
civilized  and  the  barbarian, — and  for  all  the  other 
varieties  of  station,  sex,  country,  intellectual  culture, 
and  natural  capacity. 

*  If,  as  there  seems  good  reason  for  thinking,  part  of  this  creed  was 
actually  in  use  with  the  Apostles,  this  circumstance  renders  it  the 
more  remarkable  that  it  should  not  have  been  recorded  by  them  in 
their  writings. — See  King's  (afterwards  Lord  King)  Hiatory  of  the 
Apostles'  Crted. 


CORRUPTIONS  OF   CHRISTIANITY.  143 

Each  church,  therefore,  was  left,  through  the  wise 
foresight  of  Ilim  who  alone  "  knew  what  is  in  Man,'^ 
to  provide  for  its  own  wants  as  they  should  arise  ;— - 
to  steer  its  own  course  by  the  Chart  and  Connpass 
which  his  holy  Word  supplies,  regulating  for  itself 
the  Sails  and  Kudder,  according  to  the  winds  and  cur- 
rents it  may  meet  with.*  "  The  Apostles  had  begun 
and  established  precedents,  which,  of  course,  would 
be  naturally  adopted  by  their  uninspired  successors. 
But  still,  as  these  were  only  the  formal  means  of  grace, 
and  not  the  blessing  itself,  it  was  equally  to  be  ex- 
pected that  the  church  should  assume  a  discretionary 
power,  whenever  the  means  established  became  im- 
practicable or  clearly  unsuitable,  and  either  substitute 
others,  or   even   altogether   abolish   such  as  existed 

It  might  seem  at  first  that  the  apostolical 

precedents  were  literally  binding  on  all  Ages ;  but  this 
cannot  have  been  intended ;  and  for  this  reason,  that 
the  greater  portion  of  the  apostolical  practices  have 
been  transmitted  to  us,  not  on  apostolical  authority, 
but  on  the  authority  of  the  uninspired  church  ;  which 
has  handed  them  down  with  an  uncertain  mixture  of 
its  own  appointments.  How  are  we  to  know  the  en- 
actments of  the  inspired  rulers  from  those  of  the  un- 
inspired ?  and  if  there  be  no  certain  clue,  we  must 
either  bring  down  the  authority  of  the  apostolical 
usage  to  that  of  the  uninspired  church,  or  raise  that 
of  the  uninspired  church  to  that  of  the  apostolical. 
Now,  the  former  is,  doubtless,  what  was,  to  a  certain 
extent,  intended  by  the  Apostles  themselves;  as  will 
*  Bishop  Hind's  History  of  the  Rise  and  Progress  of  Christianity. 


144 


appear  from  a  line  of  distinction  bj  wbich  they  have 
carefully  partitioned  off  such  of  their  appointments  as 
are  designed  to  be  perpetual,  from  such  as  are  left  to 
share  the  possibility  of  change,  with  the  institutions 
of  uninspired  wisdom. 

If,  then,  we  look  to  the  account  of  the  christian 
usages  contained  in  Scripture,  nothing  can  be  more 
unquestionable  than  that,  while  some  are  specified, 
others  are  passed  over  in  silence.  It  is  not  even  left 
so  as  to  make  us  imagine  that  those  mentioned  may 
be  all;  but,  while  some  are  noted  specifically,  the 
establishment  of  others  is  implied,  without  the  parti- 
cular mode  of  observance  being  given.  Thus,  we  are 
all  equally  sure  from  Scripture,  that  christian  minis- 
ters were  ordained  by  a  certain  form,  and  that  Chris- 
tians assembled  in  prayer  ;  but  while  the  precise  pro- 
cess of  laying  on  of  hands  is  mentioned  in  the  former 
institution,  no  account  is  given  of  the  precise  method 
of  Church-Service,  or  even  of  any  regular  forms  of 
prayer,  beyond  the  Lord's  Prayer.  Even  the  record 
of  the  Ordination  Service  itself  admits  of  the  same 
distinction.  It  is  quite'  as  certain,  that,  in  it,  some 
prayer  was  used,  as  that  some  outward  form  accom- 
panied the  prayer;  but  the  form  is  specified,  the 
prayer  left  unrecorded. 

What,  now,  is  the  obvious  interpretation  of  the  holy 
Dispenser's  meaning  in  this  mode  of  record  ?  Clearly, 
it  is,  that  the  Apostles  regulated,  under  his  guidance, 
the  forms  and  practices  of  the  Church,  so  as  was  best 
calculated  to  convey  grace  to  the  Church  at  that  time. 
Nevertheless,  part  of  its  institutions  were  of  a  nature, 


CORRUI»TIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  145 

which,  although  formal,  would  never  require  a 
change ;  and  these,  therefore,  were  left  recorded  in 
the  Scriptures,  to  mark  this  distinction  of  character. 
The  others  were  not,  indeed,  to  be  capriciously  aban- 
doned, nor  except  when  there  should  be  manifest 
cause  for  so  doing ;  but  as  such  a  case  was  supposable, 
these  were  left  to  mingle  with  the  uninspired  prece- 
dents, the  claims  of  which  as  precedents  would  be 
increased  by  this  uncertain  admixture,  and  the  au- 
thority of  the  whole  rendered  so  far  binding,  and  so 
far  subject  to  the  discretion  of  the  church.  They 
might  not  be  altered,  unless  sufficient  grounds  should 
appear;  but  the  settling  of  this  point  was  left  to  the 
discretion  of  the  church."* 

The  Apostles  themselves,  however,  and  their  nu- 
merous fellow-labourers,  would  not,  probably,  have 
been,  if  left  to  themselves,  so  far-sighted  as  to  perceive 
(all,  and  each  of  them,  without  a  single  exception)  the 
expediency  of  this  procedure.  Most  likely,  many  qf 
them, — but  according  to  all  human  probability,  some 
of  them, — would  have  left  us,  as  parts  of  Scripture, 
compositions  such  as  we  have  been  speaking  of;  and 
these,  there  can  be  no  doubt,  would  have  been  scru- 
pulously retained  for  ever.  They  would  have  left 
us  Catechisms,  which  would  have  been  like  precise 
directions  for  the  cultivation  of  some  plant,  admirably 
adapted  to  a  particular  soil  and  climate,  but  inappli- 
cable to  those  of  a  contrary  description.  Their 
Symbols   would   have   stood   like  ancient  sea-walls, 

*  Bishop  Hind's  History  of  the  Rise  and  Progress  of  Christianity^ 
vol.  ii,  p.  113-115. 

7 


146  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

built  to  repel  the  encroacliments  of  the  waves,  and 
still  scrupulously  kept  in  repair,  when  perhaps  the 
sea  had  retired  from  them  many  miles,  and  was 
encroaching  on  some  different  part  of  the  coast. 

There  are  multitudes,  even  as  it  is,  who  do  not, 
even  now,  perceive  the  expediency  of  the  omission ; 
there  are  not  a  few  who  even  complain  of  it  as  a 
defect,  or  even  make  it  a  ground  of  objection.  That, 
in  that  day,  the  reasons  for  the  procedure  actually 
adopted,  should  have  occurred,  and  occurred  to  all  the 
first  Christians,  supposing  them  mere  unassisted  men, 
and  men,  too,  brought  up  in  Judaism,  is  utterly 
incredible. 

But  besides  the  reason  we  have  now  been  speaking 
of,  there  is  another,  perhaps  not  less  important,  against 
the  providing  in  Scripture  of  a  regular  systematic 
statement  of  christian  doctrines.  Supposing  such  a 
summary  of  Gospel  truths  had  been  drawn  up,  and 
could  have  been  contrived  with  such  exquisite  skill 
as  to  be  sufficient  and  well  adapted  for  all,  of  every 
Age  and  Country,  what  would  have  been  the  probable 
result?  It  would  have  commanded  the  unhesitating 
assent  of  all  Christians ;  who  would,  with  deep  vene- 
ration, have  stored  up  the  very  words  of  it  in  their 
memory,  without  any  need  of  laboriously  searching 
the  rest  of  the  Scriptures,  to  ascertain  its  agreement 
with  them ;  which  is  what  we  do  (at  least  are  evi- 
dently calhd  on  to  do)  with  a  human  exposition 
of  the  faith  :  and  the  absence  of  this  labour,  together 
with  the  tranquil  security  as  to  the  correctness  of 
their  belief  which  would  have  been  thus  generated, 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  147 

would  have  ended  in  a  careless  and  contented  / 
apath}'.  There  would  have  been  no  room  for 
doubt, — no  call  for  vigilant  attention  in  the  investi- 
gation of  truth, — none  of  that  effort  of  mind  which 
is  now  requisite,  in  comparing  one  passage  with 
another,  and  collecting  instruction  from  the  scattered, 
oblique,  and  incidental  references  to  various  doctrines 
in  the  existing  Scriptures ;  and  in  consequence  none 
of  that  excitement  of  the  best  feelings,  and  that 
improvement  of  the  heart,  which  are  the  natural,  and 
doubtless  the  designed  result  of  an  humble,  diligent, 
and  sincere  study  of  the  christian  Scriptures. 

In  fact,  all  study,  properly  so  called,  of  the  rest  of 
Scripture, — all  lively  interest  in  its  perusal, — would 
have  been  nearly  superseded  by  such  an  inspired 
compendium  of  doctrine ;  to  which  alone,  as  far  the 
most  convenient  for  that  purpose,  habitual  reference 
would  have  been  made  in  any  questions  that  might 
arise.  Both  would  have  been  regarded,  indeed,  as  of 
divine  authority ;  but  the  Compendium,  as  the  fused 
and  purified  metal :  the  other,  as  the  mine  containing 
the  crude  ore.  And  the  Compendium  itself,  being 
not  like  the  existing  Scriptures,  that  fwra  which 
the  faith  is  to  be  learned,  hut  the  very  thing  to  he 
learned^  would  have  come  to  be  regarded  by  most 
with  an  indolent,  unthinking  veneration,  which 
would  have  exercised  little  or  no  influence  on  the 
character. 

Their  orthodoxy  would  have  been,  as  it  were, 
petrified,  like  the  bodies  of  those  animals  we  read  of 
incrusted  in  the  ice  of  the  polar  regions ;  firm-fixed, 


148 


indeed,  and  preserved  unchangeable,  but  cold,  mo- 
tionless, lifeless. 

It  is  only  when  our  energies  are  roused,  and  our 
faculties  exercised,  and  our  attention  kept  awake,  by 
an  ardent  pursuit  of  truth,  and  anxious  watchfulness 
against  error, — when,  in  short,  we  feel  ourselves  to 
be  doing  something  towards  acquiring,  or  retaniing, 
or  improving  our  knowledge, — it  is  then  only,  that 
that  knowledge  makes  the  requisite  practical  impres- 
sion on  the  heart  and  on  the  conduct. 

To  the  Church,  then,  has  her  all-wise  Founder  left 
the  office  of  teaching^  to  the  Scriptures,  that  oi j^roving 
the  christian  doctrines :  to  the  Scriptures  He  has  left 
the  delineation  of  christian  principles  ;  to  each  Church, 
the  application  of  those  principles,  in  their  Symbols, 
or  Articles  of  Religion, — in  their  Forms  of  Worship, 
— and  in  their  Ecclesiastical  regulations. 

And  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  every  Christian  is 
bound,  in  duty  to  his  divine  Master,  to  pay  obedience 
to  the  enactments  and  ordinances — not  adverse  to 
Scripture — of  the  Church  he  belongs  to,  though 
consisting  of  uninspired  men.  For  such  a  measure 
of  obedience  is  indispensably  necessary  for  the  exist- 
ence of  any  Society.  And  it  is  certain  that  it  is 
the  will  of  the  Lord  Jesus  that  his  people  should 
be  members  of  those  Christian  Societies  called 
Churches 

The  religion  He  introduced  was  manifestly  designed 
by  Him — and  so  understood  by  His  immediate  fol- 
lowers— to  be  a  social  religion.  It  was  not  merely  a 
revelation  of  certain  truths  to  be  received,  and  of 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  149 

practical  rules  to  be  observed, — it  was  not  a  mere 
system  of  doctrines  and  precepts  to  be  embraced  by 
each  individual,  independently  of  others;  and  in 
which  his  agreement  or  co-operation  with  any  others 
would  be  accidental ;  as  when  several  men  have  come 
to  the  same  conclusion  in  some  science,  or  have 
adopted  the  same  system  of  agriculture  or  of  medi- 
cine ;  but  it  was  to  be  a  combination  of  men  who 
should  be  "members  of  the  body  of  Christ," — 
"living  stones"  of  one  spiritual  temple;  "edifying" 
{i.  e.  building  up)  "one  another  in  their  faith," — and 
"brethren"  of  one  holy  family. 

Of  this  design  to  establish  what  should  be  empha- 
tically a  social  religion, — a  "fellowship"  or  "commu- 
nion {i.  e.  community)  of  saints,"  there  can  be,  we 
should  think,  no  doubt  in  the  mind  of  any  reflecting 
reader  of  our  Sacred  Books.  Besides  our  Lord's 
general  promise  of  "coming  unto  and  dwelling  in 
any  man  who  should  love  Him,  and  keep  his  saying," 
there  is  a  distinct  promise  also  of  an  especial  presence 
in  any  assembly — even  "of  two  or  three — gathered 
together  in  his  name."  Besides  the  general  promises 
made  to  prayer, — to  the  prayer  of  an  individual  "in 
the  closet," — there  is  a  distinct  promise  also  to  those 
who  shall  ^^  agree  together^  touching  something  they 
shall  ask."  And  it  is  in  conformity  with  his  own 
institutions  that  Christians  have,  ever  since,  celebrated 
what  they  designate  as,  emphatically,  the  Communion^ 
by  meeting  together,  "to  break  bread,"  in  commemo- 
ration of  his  redemption  of  his  people. 

His  design,  in  short,  manifestly  was  to  adapt  his 


150  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

religion  to  the  social  principles  of  man's  nature;  to 
bind  his  disciples,  throughout  all  ages,  to  each  other, 
by  those  ties  of  mutual  attachment,  sympathy,  and 
CO  operation,  which  in  every  human  community  and 
association,  of  whatever  kind,  are  found  so  powerful. 

And  it  is  evident  that  whoever  directs  or  sanctions 
the  establishment  of  a  Community,  must  be  under- 
stood as  thereby  sanctioning  those  institutions  which 
belong  to  the  essence  of  a  Community. 

Kow  there  are  three  things  which  necessarily  per- 
tain to  every  Community  or  Societ}',  and  are  implied 
by  its  existence ;  1st,  Officers ;  2dly,  Rules  ;  and  3dly, 
the  power  of  admitting  or  excluding  Members, 

I.  Whatever  may  be  the  character  and  objects  of 
any  Society — whether  it  be  a  political  society  [or 
State,] — or  a  scientific, — or  a  mercantile, — or  a  reli- 
gious society,  such  as  we  call  a  Churchy — in  all  cases, 
it  must  have  some  kind  of  Government,  and  conse- 
quently, certain  Officers  to  administer  that  Govern- 
ment; to  manage  the  affairs  of  the  Body,  and  to 
exercise  some  control  over  the  individual  members  of 
it. 

IL  There  must  also  be,  in  every  society,  some  kind 
of  Rules  ;  whether  called  Laws,  or  Statutes,  or  Canons, 
or  by  whatever  other  name  :  and  these  rules  must  be 
enforced  by  some  kind  of  Penalties  against  violations 
of  them. 

III.  And  there  must  also  exist,  somewhere,  a  power 
of  determining  who  shall  be  members  of  the  Society ; — 
what  persons  shall  be  admitted  or  refused  admittance 
into  it,  or  expelled,  or  restored. 


CORRUPTIONS  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  151 

These  three  things  are,  as  we  have  said,  essential  to 
every  kind  of  Society. 

As  for  a  Civil  Community  [or  State,]  thai  is  not  a 
voluntary  society;  but  must  have,  from  the  very 
nature  of  the  case,  a  coercive  power:  it  is  necessary 
that  all  persons  residing  in  each  Country,  should  be 
compelled  to  submit  to  the  government  of  tliat  country. 
And  there  is  no  limit^  except  in  the  justice  and  wis- 
dom of  the  rulers,  to  the  punishments  denounced 
against  those  who  disobey  the  laws. 

But  in  a  voluntary  Society,  (such  as  Christ  designed 
a  Church  to  be,)  the  ultimate  penalty  must  be  expul- 
sion, all  others  short  of  this  being  submitted  to  as  the 
alternative.  "If  he  refuse,"  says  our  Lord,  "to  hear 
the  Church  ;  let  him  be  unto  thee  as  a  heathen  man," 
— that  is,  no  longer  a  member  of  that  cliurch."^ 

And  even  as  a  "  heathen  man," — one  who  never 
belonged  to  our  Society, — has  no  claim  to  any  of  its 
privileges,  nor  is  subject  to  its  government,  or  liable 
to  its  penalties  ;  so,  if  one  who  has  been  a  member  of 
it,  has  renounced  its  authority,  or  has  been  formally 

*  That  is,  of  that  particular  church  whose  authority  he  has 
renounced.  It  does  not  follow  that  he  may  not  be  a  member  of  some 
other  church. 

Indeed,  it  has  often  happened,  amidst  the  many  unhappy  dissensions 
among  Christians,  that  all  the  members  of  a  church  that  is  completely 
opposed  to  another,  are  shut  out  from  christian  inter-coramunion  with 
tlie  other  church. 

But  though  we  may  be  justified  in  saying,  such  and  sucli  a  person 
is  not,  and  cannot  be,  considered  a  member  of  this  particular  church, 
we  have  no  right  to  pronounce  him  thereupon  excluded  from  the  Uni« 
versal  Church  of  Christ. 


152 


expelled  from  it,  he  is  placed  on  the  same  footing.  It 
would  be  unfair,  on  the  one  hand,  for  him  to  claim 
any  of  its  advantages,  or,  on  the  other  hand,  for  us  to 
attempt  to  subject  him  to  its  laws  and  its  penalties. 
He,  and  that  particular  Society,  have  thenceforth 
nothing  to  do  with  each  other.* 

And  here  it  should  be  observed  that  it  is  necessary 
not  only  that  every  Community  should  have  laws, 
enforced  by  certain  penalties,  but  also  that  it  should 
have  power  to  make  laws,  from  time  to  time,  not  in 
opposition  to  the  fundamental  principles  of  the  societ}^, 
but  for  the  carrying  out  of  those  principles. 

For  it  would  be  impossible  to  lay  down  rules,  once 
for  all,  so  minute  and  precise  as  to  meet  every  possi- 
ble case,  and  never  to  need  any  addition.  Even  the 
Mosaic  law,  which  was  extremely  particular  in  its 
directions,  was  not  sufficient  without  some  enactments, 
made  by  competent  authority,  to  decide,  for  instance, 
what  was  or  was  not  to  be  accounted  iooi%  and  conse- 
quently prohibited  on  the  Sabbath-day  ;  and  many 
other  such  points  of  detail. 

*  Sometimes  it  has  happened  that  some  church,  though  claiming  no 
power  over  a  "  heathen  man,"  has  yet  called  in  what  is  termed  the 
"secular  arm,"  to  punish  as  heretics,  persons  who  have  renounced 
allegiance  to  that  church,  or  whom  it  has  excommunicated.  But  this 
is  in  manifest  opposition  to  what  our  Lord  says  in  the  passage  above 
referred  to,  as  well  as  to  his  declaration  that  his  "  kingdom  is  not  of 
this  world." 

Whether  those  persons  were  justly  or  unjustly  excommunicated, — 
or  whether  they  were  right  or  wrong  in  seceding, — the  church  which 
has  renounced  them,  or  which  they  have  renounced,  has  clearly  no 
more  rights  over  them,  according  to  our  Lord's  express  declaration, 
than  it  has  over  a  "  heathen  man." 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  153 

Our  Lord  does  indeed  censure  the  Jewish  rulers  for 
having,  in  some  points,  made  absurd  and  frivolous 
regulations :  and  in  some,  having  "  made  the  word  of 
God  of  none  effect,  through  their  tradition."  In  the 
one  case,  they  had  made  an  ill  use  of  the  power 
intrusted  to  them ;  in  the  other  they  had  altogether 
exceeded  their  power.  But  nevertheless,  He  acknow- 
ledges that  the  power  did  exist  in  the  rulers  of  the 
Jewish  Church,  and  that  obedience  was  due  to  it 
when  their  enactments  were  not  at  variance  with 
God's  laws.  "  The  Scribes  and  Pharisees,"  said  He, 
"sit  in  Moses'  seat;"  that  is,  they  are  his  successors 
in  the  office  of  making  and  enforcing  regulations  for 
the  Jewish  Church  ;  "  wdiatsoever  they  hid  you  observe 
and  do,  so  do  ye  ;  but  do  ye  not  after  their  works ;  for 
they  say,  and  do  not." 

Now  the  rules  laid  down  in  Scripture  for  a  Chris- 
tian Church,  are  (as  was  remarked  above)  far  less 
numerous  and  less  precise  than  those  of  the  Law.  So 
that  it  was  even  much  more  necessary  that  a  christian 
Church  should  have  that  power  wdiich  our  Lord  him- 
self acknowledged  to  have  been  possessed  by  the 
Scribes  and  Pharisees. 

And  since  it  was  undoubtedly  his  design  that  there 
should  always  be  christian  churches  "even  to  the  end 
of  the  world,"  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  He  intended 
these  churches  to  possess  all  those  three  requisites 
above  mentioned,  without  which  no  community  of  any 
kind  can  subsist.  And  hence,  we  may  feel  assured 
that  the  officers  of  christian  churches,  and  the  rules 
established   in   them   (when   not   adverse  to  Gospel 

7^ 


154 


principles),  and  the  penalties  which  form  the  sanction 
of  those  rules,  and  the  power  which  every  church 
exercises  of  admitting  or  excluding  persons  as  mem- 
hers^ — all  these  must,  we  are  sure,  have  the  sanction 
of  our  divine  Master  Himself. 

All  this  we  might  infer,  as  has  been  said,  from  the 
mere  fact  of  his  having  sanctioned  the  formation  of 
christian  communities.  But,  besides  this.  He  ex- 
pressly conferred  on  his  Apostles — the  first  founders 
and  first  rulers  of  christian  churches — those  very 
powers  just  mentioned. 

The  power  of  "  binding  and  loosing"* — that  is,  of 
making  and  annulling  decisions  and  regulations — He 
distinctly  conferred  on  the  Apostles ;  declaring  that 
their  decisions  should  be  bound  "  in  heaven,"  that  is 
sanctioned  by  Himself.     (Matt.  xvi.  19.) 

This  declaration  He  made  first  to  Peter,  as  being 
the  person  chosen  to  take  the  lead  in  laying  the  first 
foundation  of  a  christian  church ;  both  among  the 
Jews  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  and  afterwards  among 
the  Grentiles.  (Acts  ii.,  x.)  But  subsequently,  a  little 
before  his  departure.  He  appoints  a  kingdom  to  the 
Apostles  generallj''.  (Luke  xxii.  29.)  In  addressing 
Peter,  He  mentions  the  "  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  hea- 
ven," that  is  the  power  of  admitting  members  into  the 
christian  church,  and  of  excluding  them.  But  this  is 
in  fact  included  in  the  appointment  to  the  kingdom ; 
since  the  rulers  of  a  church  must  be  intrusted  with 
this  power. 

*  This  is  the  phrase  which  was  and  still  continues  in  use  among  the 
Jews  in  that  sense. 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  155 

And  He  also  expressly  conferred  on  the  Apostles 
the  power  of  inflicting  and  remitting  church  penalties 
(John  XX.  23),  for  offences  against  the  society, — 
what  we  call  EcchsiasUcal  offences.  And  it  is  likely, 
that,  besides  this,  his  words  had  reference  also  to  their 
office  of  preaching  "  baptism  for  remission  of  sins," 
and  of  administering  or  refusing  baptism,  according  as 
each  person  might  appear  in  their  judgment  fit  or 
unfit :  that  is,  the  qualifications  for  being  admitted 
into  Christ's  kingdom,  and  for  being  allowed  to  conti- 
nue a  subject  of  it,  having  been  laid  down  by  Himself 
as  the  Supreme  Head,  his  ministers  were  left  to  decide 
in  each  case,  who  was,  or  was  not,  thus  qualified. 

This,  doubtless,  was  our  Lord's  meaning  when  He 
spoke  of  the  "  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  And 
it  is  probably  one  part  of  what  He  meant  to  include 
in  the  power  of  remitting  and  retaining  sins. 

But  this,  at  least,  is  quite  certain,  that  no  mere  man 
can  have  power  to  forgive  sins  as  against  GOD,  or  to 
grant  or  refuse  admission  into  the  realms  of  heavenly 
bliss ;  which  is  the  office  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Himself  at 
the  Day  of  Judgment.  By  Him  his  disciples  were 
merely  authorised  to  admit  men  into  his  kingdom  on 
earth, — that  is,  his  Church:  and  to  pronounce  not 
what  partwular  individuals^  but  what  kind  of  persons 
should  have  remission  of  sins  against  God,  and  should 
attain  eternal  life, — namely,  those  whose  penitence 
and  faith  are  seen  by  Him  to  be  sincere. 

He  might,  had  He  seen  fit,  have  gifted  his  apostles 
and  other  ministers  with  the  faculty  of  reading  any 
man's  heart,  and  foreseeing  the  future  course  of  his 


156 


life ;  and  He  miglit  thus  have  enabled  them  to  pro- 
nounce positively  of  an  individual,  that  his  sins  were 
pardoned  by  the  Most  High,  and  that  he  would 
inherit  eternal  life.  But  this  gift  our  Lord  did  not 
think  fit  to  bestow  on  his  Apostles,  or  on  any  man. 
They  were  left,  to  judge,  as  they  could,  of  the  sincerity 
of  each  man's  professions,  and  of  the  steadfastness. 
both  of  his  faith,  and  of  his  whole  christian  character. 
And  in  this  they  were  liable  to  be  deceived ;  as  is 
evident  from  the  case  (among  others)  of  Simon  the 
sorcerer  (Acts  viii.) ;  for  he  would  not  have  been  ad- 
mitted to  baptism,  if  it  had  been  perceived  at  the  time 
that  he  was  "  in  the  bond  of  iniquity." 

But  offences  against  a  society^  that  society  has  a  right 
to  pardon ;  just  as  an  individual  may  forgive  sins 
against  himself.  Indeed,  our  Lord,  we  know,  com- 
manded us  thus  to  forgive.  But  of  course  He  did  not 
mean  that  we  have  power  to  pardon  sins  as  against 
God.  For  that  belongs  to  Him  alone.  If  any  one 
does  some  wrong  to  us,  or  to  a  Society,  he  also,  by 
doing  this  wrong,  sins  against  God.  It  rests  with  us, 
or  with  the  society  he  has  wronged,  to  pardon  the 
wrong  as  against  his  fellow-men.  But  God  alone  can 
pardon  the  sin  against  God. 

All  those  three  requisites,  then,  which  we  have 
been  speaking  of  as  essential  to  every  Society,  our 
Lord  expressly  established.  He  appointed  officers^ 
and  He  conferred  the  power  of  enacting  rules^  and  of 
admitting  and  excluding  members. 

And  it  is  plain  that  what  He  said  to  those  particu- 
lar disciples  He  was  addressing,  could  not  be  meant 


CORRUPTIONS  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  157 


as  limited  to  them  alone,  but  as  having  reference  to 
His  Church  "even  unto  the  end  of  the  world;"  since 
it  is  certain  He  designed  his  Church  not  to  cease  with 
the  lives  of  its  first  founders,  but  to  continue  perma- 
nently. 

We  may,  perhaps,  think  that,  if  matters  had  been 
left  to  our  judgment  and  disposal,  we  should  have 
asked  for  a  continuance  of  miracles  for  the  conversion 
of  unbelievers,  and  a  continued  inspiration  in  the 
church,  in  order  to  be  sure  of  an  infallible  interpreta- 
tion of  Scripture.  But  as  there  is  no  promise  of  any- 
thing of  this  kind,  we  have  no  right  either  to  conclude 
from  our  own  wishes,  that  it  must  exist;  or  again,  to 
reject  Christianity  for  not  completely  answering  our 
wishes.  It  is  quite  otherwise,  however,  w^ith  those 
things  we  have  been  speaking  of  as  essential  requisites 
for  a  Society.  We  infer  that  a  christian  church  must 
have  them,  not  because  this  is  advantageous  and  desir- 
able, but  because  it  is  indispensable  to  every  kind  of 
Society.  Without  Officers  and  Rules  of  some  kind  or 
other,  and  power  of  enrolling  and  excluding  Members, 
no  Society  could  subsist  at  all.  And  since  our  Great 
Master  did  sanction  the  existence  of  christian  societies, 
we  fairly  conclude,  that  by  so  doing,  He  sanctioned 
whatever  is  essential  to  the  existence  of  a  society,  and 
implied  thereby. 

Such  was  manifestly  the  will  of  the  divine  Founder 
of  our  religion.  And  it  was  also  his  will  that  chris- 
tian communities,  the  several  portions  of  his  kingdom, 
should  continue  to  subsist  under  the  government  of 
uninspired  fallible  men,  having  no  miraculous  powers, 


158  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

nor  any  infallible  guide  on  earth  to  appeal  to,  in  case 
of  any  doubt  as  to  the  right  interpretation  of  Scripture, 
or  the  right  application  of  scripture  principles. 

This  may  seem  to  some  persons  very  strange.  Not 
but  that  we  can  perceive  plainly  that  there  is  a  dif- 
ference between  our  case  and  that  of  those  who  lived 
when  the  Gospel  was  first  proclaimed.  For  in  order 
to  introduce  a  revelation  from  Heaven,  it  was  indispen- 
sably necessary  that  certain  persons  should  receive 
from  Heaven  a  communication  of  what  that  revelation 
was.  And  no  one  could  have  been  expected  to  listen 
to  them,  if  they  had  not  proved,  by  the  display  of 
miraculous  powers,  that  they  really  had  received  such 
a  communication.  In  after  times,  on  the  contrary,  the 
turitings  of  those  persons  may  be  referred  to  for  a 
knowledge  of  what  the  religion  is.  And  the  miracles 
by  which  they  established  it,  and  without  which  it 
never  could  have  been  established,  may  be  appealed  to 
in  proof  of  its  divine  origin. 

But  still,  if  it  were  left  to  each  Christian's  judgment 
and  choice,  whether  he  would  or  would  not  have 
inspiration  and  other  miraculous  gifts  bestowed  on  the 
Church,  for  the  conversion  of  unbelievers,  and  for  the 
satisfaction  of  the  doubting,  and  for  the  correction  of 
such  errors  as  arise  from  time  to  time, — if  each  man 
were  left  to  decide  on  this  according  to  his  own  judg- 
ment and  wishes — it  is  probable  that  very  many  would 
ask  for  a  restoration  of  those  gifts.  We  should  not  at 
least  find  all  Christians  agreeing  to  decline  them  as  no 
longer  needed. 

Many  there  are  who  would  fain  have — somewhere 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  159 

at  least  on  earth — an  infallible  guide,  accessible  to  all 
men,  to  decide,  by  evident  divine  authority,  on  any 
questions  that  may  arise.  And  some  there  are  who 
are  even  so  bent  on  this,  that  they  resolve  to  find  it, 
because  they  deem  it  needful,  with,  or  without  good 
reasons  for  believing  it  to  exist ;  and  who  will  accept 
the  Gospel  on  no  other  condition. 

The  truth  is,  that  there  is  in  the  human  mind  a 
craving  for  infallibility,  which  predisposes  men 
towards  the  pretensions,  either  of  a  supposed  unerring 
church,  or  of  those  who  claim  or  who  promise  imme- 
diate inspiration.  And  accordingly,  we  find  persons 
sometimes  waver  for  a  time  between  these  two  classes 
of  pretensions,  and  ultimately  give  in  to  the  one,  or  to 
the  other,  and  sometimes  thus  changing  more  than 
once,  yet  still  always  clinging  to  the  confident  expec- 
tation of  finding  that  infallibility  we  have  been  speak- 
ing of.  They  are  inquiring  only  after  a  way  of 
exempting  themselves  from  all  further  inquiry.  Their 
care  is  only  to  relieve  themselves  ultimately  from  all 
further  need  of  vigilant  care.  They  are  navigating  in 
search  of  a  perfectly  safe  haven,  in  which  the  helm 
may  be  abandoned,  and  the  vessel  left  to  ride  securely, 
without  any  need  of  watching  the  winds  and  currents, 
and  of  looking  out  for  rocks  and  shoals.  They  hope 
to  obtain,  in  all  ages  of  the  church,  that  exemption 
from  all  need  of  vigilant  circumspection,  which  was 
not  granted  even  in  the  age  of  the  Apostles;  since  we 
find  that,  even  w^hcn  there  were  these  infallible  guides 
on  earth,  Christians  are  perpetually  warned  of  the 
danger  of  mistaking  "  false  apostles"  for  genuine. 


160  KISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

And  it  ma}^  be  added,  that  any  one  who  is  thus 
induced  to  give  himself  up  implicitly  to  the  guidance 
of  such  a  supposed  infallible  authority,  without  pre- 
suming thenceforth  to  exercise  his  own  judgment  on 
any  point  relative  to  religion,  or  to  think  for  himself 
at  all  on  such  matters, — such  a  one  will  be  likely  to 
regard  this  procedure  as  the  very  perfection  of  pious 
humility^ — as  a  most  reverent  observance  of  the  rule 
of  "lean  not  to  thine  own  understanding;"  though,  in 
reality,  it  is  the  very  error  of  leaning  improperly  to 
our  own  understanding.  For  to  resolve  to  believe 
that  God  must  have  dealt  with  mankind  just  in  the 
way  that  we  could  wish  as  the  most  desirable^  and  in 
the  way  that  to  us  seems  the  most  probable ;  this  is 
in  fact  to  set  ujj  ourselves  as  his  judges.  It  is  to  dictate 
to  Him  in  the  spirit  of  Naaman,  who  thought  that  the 
prophet  would  recover  him  by  a  touch,  and  who  chose 
to  be  healed  by  the  waters  of  Abana  and  Pharpar,  the 
rivers  of  Damascus,  which  he  deemed  better  than  all 
the  waters  of  Israel. 

But  any  thing  that  falls  in  at  once  with  men's 
wishes^  and  with  their  conjectures^  and  which  also  pre- 
sents itself  to  tliem  in  the  guise  of  a  virtuous  humility  ; 
this,  they  are  often  found  readily  and  firmly  to  believe, 
not  only  without  evidence,  but  against  all  evidence. 
And  thus  it  is  in  the  present  case.  The  principle  of 
which  we  have  been  speaking, — that  every  revelation 
from  heaven  necessarily  requires,  as  an  indispensable 
accompaniment,  an  infallible  interpreter  always  at 
hand, — this  principle  clings  so  strongly  to  the  minds 
of  many  men,  that  they  are  even  found  still  to  main- 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  161 

tain  it,  after  they  have  ceased  to  believe  in  any  reve- 
lation at  all,  or  even  in  the  existence  of  a  God. 

There  can  be,  we  conceive,  no  doubt  of  the  fact, 
that  very  great  numbers  of  men  are  to  be  found, — 
they  are  much  more  numerous  in  some  parts  of  the 
Continent  than  among  us; — men  not  deficient  in  intel- 
ligence, nor  altogether  strangers  to  reflection,  who, 
while  they  for  the  most  part  conform  externally  to 
the  prevailing  religion,  are  inwardly  utter  unbelievers 
in  Christianity  ;  yet  still  hold  to  the  principle, — which, 
in  fact,  has  had  the  chief  share  in  making  them  unbe- 
lievers,— that  the  idea  of  a  Divine  Eevelation  im- 
plies that  of  a  universally-accessible  Infallible 
Interpreter;  and  that  the  one,  without  the  other, 
is  an  absurdity  and  contradiction. 

We  have  said  that  it  is  this  principle  that  has 
mainly  contributed  to  make  these  men  unbelievers. 
For  when  a  tolerably  intelligent  and  reflective  man 
has  fully  satisfied  himself,  that,  in  point  of  fact,  no 
such  provision  has  been  made, —  that  no  infallible  and 
universally-accessible  interpreter  does  exist  on  earth 
— yet  still  adheres  to  the  principle  of  its  supposed 
necessity^  the  consequence  is  inevitable,  that  he  will  at 
once  reject  all  belief  of  Christianity.  Tlie  ideas  of  a 
Revelation,  and  of  an  unerring  Interpreter,  being 
in  his  mind  inseparably  conjoined,  the  overthrow  of 
the  one  belief  cannot  but  carry  the  other  along  with 
it.  Such  a  person,  therefore,  will  be  apt  to  think  it 
not  worth  while  to  examine  the  reasons  in  favour  of 
any  other  system  of  Christianity  not  pretending  to  fur- 
nish  an   infalUble   interpreter.     This — which,   he   is 


162 


fully  convinced,  is  essential  to  a  revelation  from  Hea- 
ven— -is  by  some  cliurches  claimed^  but  not  established^ 
while  the  rest  do  not  even  claim  it.  The  pretensions 
of  the  one  he  has  listened  to  and  deliberately  rejected  ; 
those  of  the  other  he  reo:ards  as  not  even  worth  listen - 


^o'■ 


mg  to. 


The  system,  then,  of  reasoning  from  our  own  con- 
jectures as  to  the  necessity  of  the  Most  High  doing  so 
and  so,  tends  to  lead  a  man  to  proceed  from  the  rejec- 
tion of  his  own  form  of  Christianity,  to  a  rejection  of 
revelation  altogether.  But  does  it  stop  here  ?  Does 
not  the  same  system  lead  naturally  to  Atheism  also? 
Experience  shows  that  that  consequence,  which  reason 
might  have  anticipated,  does  often  actually  take  place. 
He  who  gives  the  reins  to  his  own  conjectures  as  to 
what  is  necessary^  and  thence  draws  his  conclusions, 
will  be  likely  to  find  a  necessity  for  such  divine  inter- 
ference in  the  affairs  of  the  world  as  does  not  in  fact 
take  place.  He  will  deem  it  no  less  than  necessary, 
that  an  omnipotent,  and  all-wise,  and  beneficent  Being 
should  interfere  to  rescue  the  oppressed  from  the  op- 
pressor,— the  corrupted  from  the  corrupter, — to  de- 
liver men  from  such  temptations  to  evil  as  it  is  morally 
impossible  they  should  withstand ; — and,  in  short,  to 
banish  evil  from  the  universe.  And,  since  this  is  not 
done,  he  draws  the  inference  that  there  cannot  possi- 
bly be  a  God,  and  that  to  believe  otherwise  is  a  gross 
absurdity.  Such  a  belief  he  may,  indeed,  consider  as 
useful  for  keeping  up  a  wholesome  awe  in  the  minds 
of  the  vulgar;  and  for  their  sakes  he  may  outwardly 
profess  Christianity  also ;  even  as  the  heathen  philo- 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  163 

sophers  of  old  endeavoured  to  keep  up  the  popular 
superstitions:  but  a  real  belief  he  will  regard  as 
something  impossible  to  an  intelligent  and  reflective 
mind. 

We  are  very  far  from  saying  that  all,  or  the  greater 
part,  of  those  who  maintain  the  principle  we  are 
speaking  of,  are  Atheists.  We  all  know  how  common 
it  is  for  men  to  fiiil  of  carrying  out  some  principle 
(whether  good  or  bad)  which  they  have  adopted ; — 
how  common,  to  maintain  the  premises,  and  not  per- 
ceive the  conclusion  to  which  they  lead.  But  the  ten- 
dency of  the  ijrinciple  itself  is  what  we  are  speaking  of: 
and  the  danger  is  anything  but  imaginary  of  its  lead- 
ing, in  fact  as  it  does  naturally  and  consistently,  to 
Atheism  as  its  ultimate  result. 

But  whatever  our  wishes  or  conjectures  might  have 
been,  no  such  choice, — no  such  offer  of  infidlible  guid- 
ance— has  been  set  before  us.  What  is  required  of  us 
is,  thankfully  to  endeavour  to  make  the  best  use  of 
the  advantages  we  Imve^  instead  of  conjecturing  or 
wondering  why  it  is  that  we  have  not  more.  We  are 
not  called  on  to  explain  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  men, 
or  of  ourselves,  the  reasons,  in  each  instance,  for  God's 
having  dealt  with  iis  as  He  has.  What  we  are  to  say, 
in  reference  to  any  such  inquiries,  is,  "  Even  so.  Fa- 
ther !  for  so  it  seemed  good  in  TJnj  sights 

To  Him,  then,  it  seemed  good,  that  after  the  depar- 
ture of  the  Apostles,  no  successors  to  them  in  the 
Apostolic  office  should  arise.  As  memhers  indeed,  and 
as  ministers  and  rulers  of  christian  churches,  they  were 
succeeded  by  others,  down  to  this  day.     But  as  Apos- 


161  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

ties  of  Jesus  Christy  thej  have  no  successors.  As  per- 
sonal attendants  on  Him,  and  eye-witnesses  of  his 
resurrection — as  both  possessors  and  dispensers  of  mi- 
raculous gifts  (Acts  viii.  14),  and  as  inspired  oracles  to 
make  known  the  divine  will, — in  all  these  points,  which 
were  what  constituted  the  apostolic  office,  they  left 
none  to  succeed  them.  In  all  that  relates  to  christian 
churches,  and  also  in  that  for  the  sake  of  which 
churches  were  instituted,  the  conduct  of  individual 
Christians  in  all  the  concerns  of  life, — men  are  now, 
by  the  decree  of  Providence,  left  to  act  (according  to 
their  own  best  discretion)  in  conformity  with  Gospel 
principles^  as  recorded  in  Scripture. 

The  Holy  Spirit,  indeed,  "  who  helpeth  our  infirm- 
ities," is  promised  to  those  who  earnestly  seek  it,  and 
who  strive  to  profit  by  it.  This  aid  is  needed  by  ns,  and 
is  promised  to  ns,  both  for  the  establishment  of  our 
fait\  and  also  for  the  guidance  of  our  judgment,  and 
of  our  conduct^  whether  in  matters  connected  with  the 
Church,  or  in  anything  else.  But  how  far  any  one  is 
really  "led  by  the  Spirit"  in  each  instance,  there  is 
no  authority  on  earth  to  decide.  It  is  the  office  of  that 
Spirit  to  guard  us  both  from  error  and  from  sin.  But 
we  must  not  pretend  to  be  either  free  from  sin,  or 
exempt  from  error ;  since  of  that  we  cannot  be  infalli- 
ble judges.  If  it  be  right  to  say,  "  Who  can  tell  how 
oft  he  offendeth?"  we  ougfht  to  add  also,  "  Who  can 
tell  how  oft  he  mistaketh?" 

A  christian  church,  then,  being  a  Society,  instituted 
under  Christ's  sanction,  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  up 
and  extending  the  knowledge  and  practice  of  his  re- 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  165 

ligion,  and  of  thus  making  men  faithful  and  obedient 
subjects  of  his  kingdom,  the  rulers  of  such  a  Society 
are  bound  to  act,  according  to  the  best  of  their  power, 
with  a  view  to  this  object.  They  are  to  keep  in  mind, 
that  is,  that  it  is  Christ's  kingdom  and  not  their  own^ 
in  which  they  hold  office.  "  We  preach  not  our- 
selves," says  the  Apostle,  "but  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord; 
and  us,  your  servants,  for  Christ's  sake." 

The  powers,  therefore,  which  He  has  entrusted  to  a 
Church  are  to  be  exercised  in  strict  conformity  with 
the  principles  laid  down  by  Him  and  his  inspired 
servants. 

No  Church  has  power  to  alter,  or  to  add  to,  the 
terms  of  gospel  salvation  as  laid  down  in  Scripture  ; 
or  to  keep  back  from  its  members  anything  revealed 
in  Scripture ;  or  to  encourage,  or  willingly  leave  them, 
in  ignorance  of  it.  For  its  very  office  is,  in  the  words 
of  Christ  Himself,  to  "  teach  them  to  observe  a^/ things 
whatsoever  I  have  commanded." 

It  is,  indeed,  allowable,  and  proper,  that  a  Church 
should  employ,  for  the  instruction  of  its  people,  con- 
venient Summaries  and  Expositions  of  Scripture  doc- 
trine, such,  for  instance,  as  Catechisms.  For  this  is  to 
supply  an  omission,  which  (as  above  observed)  was 
purposely  left  in  Scripture.  But  then  these  Cate- 
chisms, &c.,  must  contain  the  very  doctrines  of  Scrip- 
ture, and  none  other.  And  being  the  compositions  of 
uninspired  men,  no  authority  must  be  claimed  for 
them,  except  from  their  agreement  with  Scripture. 
And  the  same  rule  applies  to  Forms  of  prayer  and 
to  Creeds. 


166  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

Creeds,  which  have  been  sometimes  called  "Sym- 
bols," sometimes  "  Confessions  of  Faith,"  or  "Articles 
of  Keligion,"  are  statements  of  such  doctrines  as  must 
be  acknowledged  by  any  one  who  would  become,  or 
remain,  a  member  of  the  Church  which  adopts  that 
Creed.  In  different  Churches,  in  the  earliest  times, 
different  Creeds  were  in  use;  and  alterations  were 
made  in  them  from  time  to  time.  Not  that  any 
Church  had  a  right  to  alter  the  christian  Faith  ;  but 
that  it  was  necessary  to  meet,  and  guard  against  the 
particular  religious  errors  which  arose  in  various  Ages 
and  Countries.  But  as  none  of  these  creeds  is  to  be 
found  in  Scripture,  so,  there  is  none  that  can  claim 
any  authority,  except  from  its  conformity  to  Scripture. 

The  doctrines^  then,  which  a  christian  Church  teaches, 
and  is  bound  to  teach,  are  to  be  those  of  the  christian 
Scriptures  ;  neither  more  nor  less. 

But,  on  the  other  hand.  Church  ordinances  and  regu- 
lations are  only  required  to  be  not  at  variance  with 
Scripture.  For  it  is  indispensably  necessary  for  a 
Church  to  make  enactments  on  many  points  respect- 
ing which  nothing  is  precisely  laid  down  in  Scripture; 
but  only  the  general  principle,  "let  all  things  be  done 
to  edifying." 

For  instance,  assembling  for  public  joint  Worship 
is  enjoined  in  Scripture ;  but  the  times,  places,  and 
mode  of  conducting  the  worship  are  not  specified. 
The  Sacraments,  again,  as  instituted  by  Christ,  are 
to  be  celebrated ;  but  the  mode  of  celebration  is  not 
prescribed.  It  is  not  even  ordered  that  the  Elders 
[Clergy]  are  to  administer  the  Sacraments;    though 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  167 


this,  (very  naturally  and  properly,)  has  been  the  rule 
of  every  Church. 

In  these,  and  in  several  other  points,  a  Church  is 
not  only  authorized,  but  compelled,  to  make  regula- 
tions ;  because  we  are  enjoined  to  do  things  which 
must  be  done  in  some  regular  specified  mode,  and  the 
mode  is  not  laid  down  in  Scripture. 

For  instance,  since  Christians  are  commanded  (as 
has  just  been  observed)  to  assemble  (Heb.  x.  25)  for 
divine  worship,  it  is  necessary  that  the  times  for  doing 
so  should  be  fixed  by  authority.  And,  accordingly, 
certain  days  have  been,  in  all  ages  of  Christianity,  set 
apart  by  every  Church,  for  this  purpose.  Thus  every 
one  knows  what  is  called  Christmas-day  has  been  set 
apart  to  commemorate  the  birth  of  Jesus  Christ;  the 
day  called  Good  Friday,  for  his  crucifixion ;  and  Eas- 
ter-day in  each  year,  and  also  the  first  day  in  each 
week  (thence  called  "  the  Lord's  Day"),  to  celebrate 
his  resurrection.* 

*  Hence,  the  Sunday,  being  (like  the  Jewish  Sabbath)  one  day  in 
every  seven,  is  sometimes  called  the  Christian  Sabbath  ;  though  kept 
on  a  different  day  of  the  week  from  the  Jewish  Sabbath,  and  in  a  dif- 
ferent manner,  and  to  commemorate  a  different  event. 

Neither  the  foutrh  Commandment,  nor  any  other  law  enjoining  the 
observance  of  the  seventh  day  of  the  week  in  memory  of  the  close  of 
the  creation,  is  regarded  by  Christians  as  binding  on  them.  For  if  it 
were,  they  would  be  bound  strictly  to  obey  it,  as  it  was  given.  For 
the  Apostles, — who,  themselves,  as  Jews,  kept  the  Sabbath-day,  and 
also,  as  Cliristians,  assembled  for  worship  on  the  Lord's  Day, — never 
made  a  change  of  the  Sal^bath  from  the  seventh  day  to  the  first.  And 
no  Church,  consisting  of  uninspired  men,  has  any  right  to  change  any 
divine  ordinance  designed  for  them.  But  the  Mosaic  Law  having  come 
to  an  end,   and,   moreover,  having  never  been  binding  on  Gentiles,  a 


168 


And  in  the  observance  of  ''  the  Lord's  Day,"  after 
the  example  of  the  Apostles  (though  no  express  com- 
mand of  theirs  to  that  effect  is  recorded),  all  Churches, 
from  the  earliest  times,  have,  very  properly,  agreed. 

A  Church  that  should  act  otherwise,  would  be 
making  an  ill  use  of  the  powers  bestowed  on  it ;  but 
it  would  be  presumptuously  exceeding  its  powers,  if  it 
should  dare  to  enact  anything  at  variance  with  Scrip- 
ture. For  instance,  either,  on  the  one  hand,  to  abolish 
the  Sacraments  ordained  by  Christ,  or,  on  the  other 
hand,  to  depart  from  that  celebration  of  the  Lord's 
Supper  which  He  Himself  appointed,  and  to  adminis- 
ter the  bread  without  the  cup,  which  He  directed  all 
the  Disciples  to  drink  of,  is  what  no  Church  can  have 
any  right  to  do. 

And  it  would  be  equally  against  Scripture,  and  that 
in  a  most  important  point,  to  attempt  to  convert 
christian  Ministers  into  sacrificing  Priests:  because 
Scripture  plainly  teaches  that,  under  the  Gospel,  this 
office  belongs  to  Christ  alone. 

But  christian  Ministers  for  the  performance  of  such 
duties  as  are  described  in  Paul's  Epistles  to  Timothy 
and  to  Titus,  and  elsewhere,  every  church  clearly  has 
a  right  to  appoint,  for  the  reasons  already  given. 
And  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  the  Elders 
ordained  in  each  Church  by  Paul,  or  any  other  Apos- 
tle, did  themselves,  in  turn,  ordain  others  to  assist  or 
to  succeed  them ;  and  these  again,  others,  and  so  on 
in  perpetuity,  down  to  the  present  day. 

christian  church  is  left  to  determiae  what  days  shall  be  set  apart,  as 
above  mentioned. 


CORRUPTIONS  OF   CHRISTIANITY.  169 

But  then,  it  is  from  the  Church  that  Ministers  (as 
well  as  Church  ordinances)  derive  all  their  authority. 
Whether  in  sending  fresh  labourers  into  the  Lord's 
vineyard,  or  in  any  of  their  other  functions,  they  must 
act  as  authorised  by  the  Society,  and  as  representing 
it;  not  as  possessing  independent  powers,  as  indi- 
viduals. For  it  is  to  a  Church  as  to  a  Society  that 
those  rights  we  have  been  speaking  of  belong;  and 
whatever  is  done  by  the  regular  Officers  of  a  Society, 
conformably  to  its  constitution,  is  to  be  considered  as 
done  by  the  society. 

When,  therefore,  Bishops,  or  any  others,  are  spoken 
of  as  ordaining  persons  to  the  Ministry,  it  must  be 
understood  that,  being  empowered  by  their  Church  so 
to  do,  according  to  the  rules  of  that  Church,  they  are 
its  represenlatives^  and  their  acts  are  its  acts. 

And  if  any  Minister  were  regularly  deprived  of  his 
office,  he  would  no  longer  have  any  power  either  to 
ordain,  or  in  any  way  to  officiate;  unless  he  were  ad- 
mitted into  some  other  Church,  and  taken  into  its  ser- 
vice as  one  of  its  Ministers. 

The  rights,  then,  conferred  on  christian  Communi- 
ties by  our  divine  Master  Himself;  being  such  as  we 
have  described,  no  one  need  be  distressed  by  doubts 
and  fears  respecting  some  possible  irregularity  in  the 
ordination  of  some  minister,  which  may  possibly  have 
occurred  at  some  time  or  other,  in  the  course  of 
eighteen  centuries. 

Amidst  the  wars  and  tumults  and  general  confusion 
which  took  place  at  various  times  during  that  space, 
and  especially  during  what  are  called  "the  dark  ages," 

8 


170  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

when  ignorance  and  barbarism,  as  well  as  lawless 
violence,  were  so  prevalent,  it  may  have  happened, 
more  than  once,  that  some  person  who  had  never  been 
regnlarly  ordained,  or,  perhaps,  even  baptized,  may 
have  contrived  to  intrude  himself  into  the  ministerial 
office;  and  to  have  even  attained  the  rank  of  a 
bishop;  and  may  thus  have  been  the  ordainer  of 
others,  the  successors  of  whom  may  possibly  be  among 
ourselves  at  this  day. 

There  is  no  christian  Minister  now  existing  that  can 
trace  up,  with  complete  certainty,  his  own  ordination, 
through  perfectly  regular  steps,  to  the  times  of  the 
Apostles.  And,  accordingly,  if  the  reality  of  the 
ministerial  Office  were  made  to  depend,  not  on  a 
man's  being  an  acknowledged  Minister  of  a  christian 
Church,  but  on  a  certain  mj^sterious  sacramental  vir- 
tue, transmitted  from  hand  to  hand,  in  unbroken  suc- 
cession from  the  Apostles,  there  would  be  a  most  dis- 
tressing and  incurable  uncertainty  in  each  Christian's 
mind,  whether  he  were  really  baptized,  really  ordained, 
or  really  partaker  of  any  christian  privileges. 

But  as  it  is,  there  is  no  ground  for  any  such  per- 
plexing doubts.  A  christian  Community,  formed  on 
Gospel  principles,  confers  on  its  recognised  Officers 
the  rights  of  christian  Ministers;  who  are  to  be 
regarded  as  having  Christ's  commission,  and  as  suc- 
cessors of  the  Apostles  in  the  ministerial  office.  We 
are  bound,  indeed,  to  do  our  very  best  to  prevent 
irregularities  of  any  kind,  in  ordinations,  and  in  every 
thing  else  connected  with  our  religion.  But  we  need 
not  fear  that  any  accidental  or  unavoidable  irregula- 


CORRUPTIONS  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  171 

rity  that  may  ever  have  occnrred,  can  have  the  effect 
of  shutting  out  whole  Bodies  of  sincere  disciples  from 
the  Gospel  covenant  and  christian  ordinances,  or  from 
any  privilege  granted  by  Christ  Himself  to  those  who 
should  be  "gathered  together  in  his  name." 

It  is  to  be  observed,  however,  that  although  no  one 
individual  christian  Minister  can,  with  complete  certain- 
ty, trace  his  own  succession  in  an  unbroken  chain  from 
the  Apostles,  and  prove  that  there  was  no  flaw  in  any 
link,  the  case  is  different  when  we  look  to  tlie  Clergy 
generally.  For  there  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt  that 
such  an  Order  of  men  did  always  exist,  from  the  times 
of  the  Apostles,  continuously,  to  this  day.  We  may 
be  as  sure  of  this  as  we  are  that  great  numbers  of  the 
English  nation  are  descendants  of  the  Saxons,  who 
settled  in  Britain  in  the  fifth  and  sixth  centuries, 
though  there  is  probably  no  one  man  who  could  trace 
his  descent  from  any  of  them.  For,  christian  Minis- 
ters held  office  in  the  churches  as  immediate  successors 
of  others  who  held  the  same  office,  and  who  in  like 
manner  professed  to  be  the  immediate  successors  of 
others,  &c.,  whose  predecessors  had  been  appointed  by 
the  Apostles  themselves. 

Now,  if,  a  century  ago,  or  ten  centuries  ago,  or  at 
any  other  time,  a  number  of  men  had  arisen,  claiming 
to  be  the  immediate  successors  (as  above  described) 
of  persons  holding  this  office,  when,  in  fact,  no  such 
Order  of  men  had  ever  been  heard  of  such  an  absurd 
pretension  would  have  been  immediately  exposed  and 
derided. 

There  must  always,  therefore,  have  existed  such  an 


172  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

Order  of  men,  from  the  time  of  those  Apostles  who 
professed  to  be  eye-witnesses  of  the  Resurrection,  and 
to  work  sensible  public  miracles  in  proof  of  their 
divine  commission.  And,  consequently,  the  christian 
Ministrj^  is  a  standing  monument  to  attest  the  public 
jyrGckunaiion  of  those  miraculous  events  at  the  very 
time  when  they  are  said  to  have  occurred. 

Kow,  at  that  time  there  must  have  been  great  num- 
bers of  persons  able  and  willing  to  expose  the  impos- 
ture, had  there  been  any. 

And  this  argument  for  the  truth  of  the  Sacred  His- 
tory is  quite  independent  of  any  particular  mode  of 
appointing  christian  Ministers.  If,  for  instance,  these 
had  always  been  elected  by  the  People,  and  had  at 
once  entered  on  their  office  without  any  ordination  by 
other  Ministers,  still,  if  they  were  but  appointed  (in 
whatever  mode)  as  immediate  successors  of  persons 
holding  the  same  office,  the  argument  would  be  the 
same. 

That  mode,  indeed,  of  admitting  men  into  the  Min- 
istry which  was  practised  by  the  Apostles  (1  Tim.  iv. 
14,  and  v.  22)  has,  in  fact,  been  retained  in  all  ages 
of  Christianity.  But  the  argument  we  have  now  been 
considering  is  quite  independent  of  this.  It  turns 
entirely  on  the  mere  fact  of  the  constant  existence  of  a 
certain  Order  of  men. 

And  it  is  worth  observing,  that  the  Lord's  Day  is 
a  monument  of  the  same  kind.  It  is  kept  all  over  the 
world,  by  different  and  even  hostile  Bodies  of  Chris- 
tians, in  memory  of  the  Resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ. 
And  not  only  so, — for  this  alone  would  not  be  a  deci- 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  173 

sive  proof, — ^but  it  is  observed  by  them  as  a  day 
which  has  been  alivays  thus  kept,  from  the  very  day 
when  the  Lord  Jesus  is  recorded  to  have  risen,  and  to 
have  appeared  to  his  Disciples.  Now,  if  it  had  not 
been  thus  constantly  kept,  from  the  first,  but  the  ob- 
servance of  it  introduced  in  some  later  age,  those 
among  whom  it  was  thus  introduced  would  have  been 
able  to  testify  that  they  had  never  heard  of  such  a  fes- 
tival before. 


CORRUPTIONS  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

It  was  observed  in  the  preceding  Section,  that  if  all 
things  relating  to  the  Christian  Church  had  been 
ordered  by  Divine  Providence  in  the  way  that  men 
would  have  been  likely  to  conjecture  as  the  most 
probable,  and  to  wish  for  as  the  most  desirable,  there 
would  have  been  some  infallible  guide  left  on  Earth, 
to  decide  all  questions  that  might  arise,  and  to  guard 
US  against  all  possible  religious  error.  There  w^ould 
have  been  a  'perjictual  inspiration  lodged  in  some 
person  or  persons,  endued  with  such  manifest  mira- 
cnlous  powers  as  could  leave  no  doubt  as  to  their 
inspiration.  And  these  infallible  interpreters  would 
have  been  universally  and  readily  accessible. 

But  it  is  notorious,  that  such  was  not  the  design  of 
Providence :  and  that  no  such  f^-uide  does  exist.     Of 


174:  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

all  the  persons  who  have  claimed  infallibility,  there  is 
none  who  has  displayed  (as  Paul  did)  "the  signs  of 
an  apostle,"  that  is,  such  palpable  and  undeniable 
miraculous  powers,  as  to  leave  no  doubt  in  any  candid 
mind,  of  his  being  really  inspired.  And  since  the 
very  purpose  for  which  an  infallible  guide  is  sup- 
posed to  be  needed,  is,  the  removal  of  all  reasonable 
doubts^  it  is  plain  that  if  God  had  thought  fit  to 
provide  us  with  such  a  guide.  He  would  not  have 
left  it  at  all  douhtfal  where  we  were  to  look  for  that 
guide. 

It  seems  to  have  been  his  design  that  part  of  Man's 
trial  on  Earth  should  consist  in  his  being  required  to 
"prove  (Aox»;xa^t-iv),  [that  is,  try  and  examine]  all 
things,  and  hold  fast  that  which  is  right."  We  are 
called  on  to  inquire  carefully,  and  humbl}^,  and 
piously,  after  truth ;  and  to  embrace  whatever  appears, 
to  the  best  of  our  judgment,  to  be  the  truth. 

To  complain  of  this, — to  reject  or  undervalue  the 
revelation  God  has  bestowed,  urging  that  it  is  no 
revelation  to  us,  or  an  insufficient  one,  because  uner- 
ring certainty  is  not  bestowed  also, — because  we  are 
required  to  exercise  patient  diligence  and  watch- 
fulness, and  candour,  and  humble  self-distrust, — this 
would  be  as  unreasonable  as  to  disparage  and  neglect 
the  bountiful  gift  of  eyesight,  because  men's  eyes 
have  sometimes  deceived  them ;  because  men  have 
mistaken  a  picture  for  the  object  imitated,  or  a  mirage 
of  the  desert  for  a  lake ;  and  have  fancied  they  had 
the  evidence  of  sight  for  the  sun's  motion ;  and  to 
infer  from  all  this  that  we  ought  to  blindfold  ourselves, 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  175 

and  be  led  hencefortU  by  some  guide  who  pretends  to 
be  himself  not  liable  to  such  deceptions. 

The  two  great  volumes, — that  of  Nature,  and  that 
of  Revelation,  which  God  has  opened  before  us  for 
our  benefit,  are  in  this  respect  analogous.  Both  are 
in  themselves  exempt  from  error;  but  they  do  not 
confer  complete  exemption  from  all  possibility  of 
error  on  the  student  of  them.  As  the  laws  of  nature 
are  in  themselves  invariable,  but  yet  are  sometimes 
imperfectly  known,  and  sometimes  mistaken,  by 
natural  philosophers,  so  the  Scriptures  are  intrinsically 
infallible,  but  do  not  impart  infallibility  to  the  student 
of  them.  Even  by  the  most  learned,  they  are  in 
many  parts  imperfectly  understood ;  by  the  "  un- 
learned and  unstable"  they  are  liable  to  be  "wrested 
to  their  own  destruction." 

But  still,  if  no  errors  or  dissensions  had  arisen  in 
the  Church  during  the  days  of  the  Apostles,  and  then, 
wdien  these  inspired  teachers  were  removed,  heresies 
and  schisms  (ix'i^ixaTa,  divisions)  had  arisen  for  the 
first  time,  w^e  might  have  felt  as  if  God  had  forsaken 
us,  and  as  if  Christians  were  exposed  to  such  trials  as 
had  not  been  originally  designed.  Or  we  might  have 
imagined  (as  indeed  some  persons  have  imagined)  that 
God  would  still  grant  us  inspiration,  attested  by 
miraculous  signs,  if  we  were  not  wanting  in  faith,  and 
in  earnest  supplication  for  such  gifts. 

And  accordingly,  in  almost  every  Age  of  Chris- 
tianity, there  have  been  persons  who  have  persuaded 
themselves  that  miraculous  powers  and  inspiration 
actually    are    bestowed    on   themselves   or   on   their 


176  KISE,   PROGRESS,    AND 

Church ;  and  these  pretensions  are  believed  by  such 
as  decide  according  to  their  own  wishes  and  conjec- 
tures, without  any  rational  proofs. 

But  when  we  come  to  examine  Scripture  History, 
we  find  that,  even  in  the  times  of  the  Apostles,  false 
teachers  did  "arise,  speaking  perverse  things,  to  draw 
away  disciples  after  them,"*  and  that  Christians  were 
thus  divided  into  rival  sects.  And  this,  the  Apostles 
teach  us,  is  a  part  of  the  appointed  trial  to  which  we 
are  to  be  subjected  here  on  earth.  "There  must 
needs  be  heresies,  that  they  which  are  approved  may 
be  made  manifest"  (1  Cor.  xi.  19),  that  is,  that  men 
may  have  to  exercise  their  care  and  candour  in 
ch using  between  truth  and  error. 

And  since  Grod  did  think  fit  that  christians  should 
have  to  encounter  such  trials,  He  mercifully  provided 
that  they  should  be  forewarned  "to  take  heed  to 
themselves."  The  errors  and  corruptions  introduced, 
even  in  the  days  of  the  Apostles,  are  recorded  in  our 
Sacred  Books,  on  purpose,  no  doubt,  to  put  us  on  our 
guard ;  to  prepare  us  to  be  watchful  against  corrup- 
tions of  Christianity  in  all  other  Ages  of  the  Church ; 
and  also  to  prevent  our  being  disheartened  at  finding 
ourselves  exposed  to  such  a  trial. 

It  is  not  the  design  of  this  Dissertation,  nor  indeed 
would  its  limits  permit,  to  give  an  historical  account 
of  each  of  the  various  corruptions  of  Christianity 
which  have  taken  place  in  different  Ages  and  Coun- 
tries. It  will  be  sufficient  to  give  a  sketch  of  the 
principal  sources  from  which  they  arose,  and  of  the 

*  Acts  XX.  28,  perverted  doctrines,  6itar^ii,^tva, 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  177 

means  by  whicTi,  in  many  instances,  they  were  encou- 
raged and  kept  up. 

These  two  general  rules,  then,  arc  to  be  kept  in 
mind : — 

I5/,  That  whatever  opposed  Christianity  at  the 
outset,  afterwards  tended  to  mix  itself  up  with  the 
Religion,  and  corrupt  it. 

2(%,  That  as  far  as  any  corruptions  depended  on 
local  and  temporary  circumstances,  so  far,  they  would 
be  likely  soon  to  die  away,  without  spreading  widely; 
but  so  far  as  they  were  connected  with  Human  Natiwe^ 
we  may  expect  to  find  them  appearing  again  and 
again,  in  various  countries. 

I.  First,  then,  we  have  said  that  the  causes  which, 
at  the  beginning,  led  to  open  hostility  against  the 
Gospel,  afterwards  operated  to  corrupt  it.  All  those 
human  faults  and  follies — all  those  prejudices,  and 
infirmities,  and  vices — which  originally  disposed  men 
to  reject  the  Christian  religion,  found  their  way  into 
it,  in  proportion  as  it  prevailed. 

At  first,  almost  all  those  whose  notions  and  whose 
dispositions  were  wholly  adverse  to  Christianity,  re- 
jected it  altogether,  and  endeavoured  to  put  it  down : 
though  even  from  the  very  first  there  were  exceptions 
to  this  rule ;  as  we  see  in  the  instances  of  Iscariot,  and 
of  Simon  the  Sorcerer.  But  as  the  Religion  spread, 
and  became  less  and  less  unpopular,  and  the  number 
of  disciples  multiplied  more  and  more,  there  was  a 
continually  increasing  number  of  persons  who,  though 
members  of  Christian  churches,  had  not  fully  under- 
stood the  character  of  the  Gospel,  nor  imbibed  the 

8* 


178  RISE,    PIIOGHESS,    AND 

spirit  of  it.  And  these  introduced  into  the  Eeligion 
the  same  kind  of  errors  and  wrong  principles  as  had 
originally  been  openly  arrayed  against  it. 

The  chief  opposition  to  the  Gospel  arose  from  (1.) 
Judaism ;  (2.)  Pagan  Superstitions ;  (3.)  Heathen 
Philosophy;  (4.)  Immorality  of  Character;  and,  (5.) 
Worldly  Policy. 

And  the  spirit  of  Judaism,  of  Paganism,  &c., 
afterwards  found  their  way  vito  Christianity,  and 
tended  to  corrupt  it. 

(1.)  It  has  been  pointed  out  in  an  earlier  part  of 
this  Dissertation,  how  much  opposed  the  prevailing 
Jewish  notions  and  prejudices  were  to  the  religion  of 
Jesus  Christ. 

And  accordingly^,  one  of  the  very  earliest  attempts 
to  corrupt  Christianity  was  made  by  the  Judaizing 
teachers,  who  were  continually  endeavouring  to  bring 
the  Grentile  believers  under  the  yoke  of  the  Mosaic 
Law.     (Acts  XV.,  Gal.  ii.,  Phil,  iii.) 

(2.)  Then,  again,  of  the  opposition  of  the  Pagan 
worshippers  to  the  Gospel,  we  find  many  instances 
mentioned  in  the  Book  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles ; 
especially  in  chap.  xvi.  20,  21 ;  and  xix.  27. 

And  we  find,  from  time  to  time,  attempts  made  to 
incorporate  into  Christianity  superstitions  borrowed 
from  Paganism,  or  of  a  similar  nature. 

The  earliest,  perhaps,  of  these  corruptions  of  Chi'is- 
tianity,  w^as  that  introduced  by  those  very  ancient 
heretics,  the  Gnostics,  w^hom  the  Apostle  John  was 
particularly  occupied  in  opposing,  both  in  his  Epis- 
tles and  in  the  opening  of  his  Gospel. 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  179 

These  men,  it  is  well  known,  blended  with  christian 
doctrines  many  of  the  notions  of  the  Pagans,  of  the 
Persian,  and  some  other  Eastern  Nations.  The  reli- 
gious system  of  these  Nations  consisted  in  acknow- 
ledging and  reverencing  two  beings  of  equal  power, — 
a  good  and  an  evil  god, — whom  they  called  Ormuzd 
and  Ahriman.  And  some  of  their  descendants,  in  the 
same  regions,  at  this  day,  are  said  to  retain  this  faith, 
and  to  be  worshippers  principally  of  the  evil  god. 

The  Gnostics  accordingly  taught,  among  other 
things,  that  the  world  was  not  created  by  the  Supreme 
God,  but  by  an  Evil  Being,  or  by  a  certain  inferior 
god,"^ 

But,  as  has  been  above  said,  various  other  Pagan 
errors,  or  errors  resembling  those  of  Paganism,  have, 
from  time  to  time,  crept  into  the  christian  Church. 

(3.)  The  ancient  heathen  philosophers  again,  who 
believed  little  or  nothing  of  the  popular  superstitions, 
were  no  less  opposed  to  the  Gospel,  which  they 
derided  as  "  foolishness."  And  many  of  them,  when 
they  afterwards  embraced  Christianity,  endeavoured 
to  reconcile  it  with  their  philosophical  speculations, 
and  thus  to  be  wise  above  that  which  is  written. 

It  is  evidently  to  this  danger  that  Paul  is  alluding, 
in  many  passages;  especially  when  he  warns  the 
Colossians,  "  Beware  lest  any  man  spoil  you  through 
philosophy  and  vain  deceit,  after  the  rudiments  of  the 
world,  and  not  after  Christ."  (Col.  ii.  8.  See  also  1 
Cor.  i.  20-28.) 

It   appears,  therefore,  that   even  in  the  Apostolic 

*  Thence  denominated  by  them  Ani^iovpyos. 


180  lUSE,    niOGRESS,    AND 

Age,  men  had  begun  to  introduce  into  Christianity 
presumptuous  speculations  on  matters  not  revealed  in 
Scripture,  and  to  make  the  Gospel  a  field  for  the  exer- 
cise of  their  philosophical  ingenuity.  But  in  later 
ages  this  evil  prevailed  to  a  far  greater  degree. 

(4.)  As  for  moral  depravity,  no  one  can  doubt  how 
much  this  must  have  led  many  persons  to  shut  their 
ears  against  the  evidences  for  a  religion  which  required 
them  to  reform  their  lives. 

The  description  given  of  Felix,  the  Governor,  would 
no  doubt  have  suited  a  great  number  of  others: 
"  When  Paul  reasoned  of  righteousness,  temperance, 
and  the  judgment  to  come,  Felix  trembled,  and  said, 
Go  thy  way  for  this  time ;  when  I  have  a  convenient 
season  I  will  call  for  thee." 

But  when  persons  of  this  character  did  become 
members  of  the  Church,  as  it  appears  many  did,  even 
in  the  time  of  the  Apostles,  they  naturally  sought  to 
accommodate  the  religion  to  their  own  corrupt  charac- 
ters. This  seems  to  have  been  more  particularly  the 
case  with  those  Gnostics  above  mentioned.  For  they 
taught  that  men  are  to  be  saved  by  what  they  called 
"  knowledge*  of  the  Gospel,"  while  living  the  most 
immoral  life,  and  yet  having  no  sin  (that  is  nothing 
imputed  to  them  as  sin)  but  being  accounted  righteous 
without  "  doing  righteousness."  (1  John  iii.)  And 
this  it  was  that  made  the  Apostle  John  so  vehement 
in  his  censure  of  them. 

But  there  are  many  allusions  in  the  Apostolic  Epis- 

*  Hence  their  title  of  "Gnostics;"  that  is,  persons  knowing  the 
Gospel. 


COllRUPTIONS   OF  CHRISTIANITY.  181 

tics,  to  others  besides  these  Gnostics,  who  sought 
to  "  hold  the  truth  in  unrighteousness."  (Romans 
i.  18.) 

(5.)  Lastly,  ivorldly  j)oUcy  was  evidently  one  of  the 
chief  causes  which,  in  the  outset,  acted  as  a  hindrance 
to  the  reception  of  Christianity.  It  is  plain,  from  the 
NQ^VY  nature  of  the  case,  that  all  views  of  worldly  am- 
bition,—  all  desire  of  worldly  profit  or  advantage  of 
any  kind, — all  considerations  of  supposed  political 
expedicnc}', — must  have  been,  at  first,  arrayed  in  op- 
position to  the  Gospel.  And  every  part  of  the  sacred 
narrative  confirms  this.  We  find  the  Jewish  rulers 
influenced  bj^  the  fear  that  "  the  Romans  would  come 
and  take  away  their  place  and  nation."  (John  x.  48.) 
We  find  them  urging  before  Pilate,  that  "  whosoever 
makcth  himself  a  king,  speaketh  against  Ca3sar." 
And  we  find  the  same  sort  of  plea  repeatedly  used  to 
the  Roman  governors,  and  often  with  effect.  (See 
Acts  xvii.  7,  and  xix.  23.) 

And  again,  the  poverty,  hardships,  and  persecu- 
tions, which  the  early  Christians  had  been  so  earnestly 
forewarned  of  by  our  Lord  (John  xvi.  1,  2),  and  to 
which  they  were  actually  exposed,  must  have  operated 
very  strongly  in  prejudicing  all  men  of  a  worldly 
character  against  the  religion. 

Of  course,  in  proportion  as  Christianity  became  less 
unpopular,  and  more  generally  received,  this  cause 
would  less  and  less  operate  in  making  men  reject  the 
religion,  and  would  be  more  and  more  likely  to  cor- 
rupt it.  In  proportion  as  worldly-minded  men  became 
members  of  the  Church,  they  would  naturally  endea- 


182 


vour  to  wrest  tlie  Religion  to  their  own  views  of  am- 
bition or  of  profit. 

Ttiis  could  not  be  expected  to  take  place  to  the 
same  extent  in  the  earliest  Ages  as  afterwards.  Yet 
we  find  that  even  in  the  daj^s  of  the  Apostles,  men 
had  crept  into  the  church  who  were  tainted  with  ava- 
rice or  worldly  ambition,  and  who  corrupted  the 
christian  doctrines  so  as  to  favour  their  own  views. 
For  we  find  Paul  cautioning  Timothy  against  "  per- 
verse disputings  of  men  of  corrupt  minds  and  desti- 
tute of  the  truth,  who  regard  religion  as  a  source  of 
profit."* 

All  the  principal  causes,  then,  which  occasioned  op- 
position to  Christianity,  at  the  outset,  led  afterwards  to 
the  corruption  of  the  Religion  ;  and  accordingly,  some 
of  the  principal  corruptions  which  have,  at  various 
times,  been  introduced,  will  be  noticed  under  the  same 
five  heads  under  which  we  have,  just  above,  treated 
of  the  sources  of  the  original  opposition  to  the  Gospel. 
Those  causes,  which  had  begun  to  operate  even  in  the 
days  of  the  Apostles,  had,  of  course,  more  of  this  cor- 
rupting influence  in  later  times.  In  proportion  as 
the  dangers  to  the  Church  from  without  were  dimi- 
nished, by  the  increasing  prevalence  of  the  Religion, 
the  dangers  from  ivithin  naturally  increased.  For,  the 
number  must  of  course  have  become  greater,  of  mem- 
bers of  the  Church  who  were  such  merely  because 
they  had  been  brought  up  as  children  of  Christian 
parents,  or  because  Christianity  was  the  prevailing 
religion ;  and  who  icould  have  rejected  it  when  first 

*    1  Tim.  vi.  5.      ^  '^  ^Ji/TLii/  TZJpKTjidi  upai  tov  evae/Seiav 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  183 

preached,  from  their  having  an  unconverted  heart, 
and  being  strangers  to  the  true  spirit  of  the  Gospeh 
And  such  persons  will  always  be  likely  to  aim  at 
bringing  their  religion  into  a  conformity  with  their 
own  characters,  instead  of  conforming  their  own  cha- 
racters to  the  Religion. 

11.  The  second  general  rule  we  laid  down  was,  that 
so  far  as  any  human  fault  or  folly  was  peculiar  to  soyyie 
particular  time  or  Country^  its  effects  may  be  expected 
soon  to  have  passed  away  without  spreading  very  far; 
but  so  far  as  it  belonged  to  human  nature  in  general, 
we  must  expect  to  find  the  evil  effects  of  its  reappear- 
ing again  and  again,  in  various  forms,  in  all  Ages,  and 
in  various  regions. 

And  for  the  most  part  it  will  be  found  that  the  pre- 
judices and  evil  dispositions  of  men  wdiich  have  intro- 
duced religious  error,  and  accordingly  the  religious 
errors  themselves  thence  arising,  are  different  in  their 
outward  form  according  to  the  peculiar  circumstances 
of  each  time  and  place ;  but  that  in  substance  and  at 
bottom,  they  are  nearly  alike,  always  and  everywhere. 

For,  example,  the  prejudice  of  the  Jews  in  favour 
of  their  own  nation  and  institutions,  gave  rise  to  that 
very  early  heresy  above  noticed  (see  Acts  xv.,  and 
Gal.  ii.),  of  those  who  taught  that  all  Christians  were 
bound  to  keep  the  Mosaic  Law ;  or  at  least,  that  such 
as  did  so  had  attained  a  superior  degree  of  sanctity. 
The  violation  of  the  UNITY  [Oneness]  of  Christ's 
religion,  by  thus  dividing  Christians  into  two  classes, 
admitted  to  different  degrees  of  religious  privilege,  has 
been  already  noticed.     The  sect  of  Judaizing  Chris- 


184  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

tians,  however,  thus  founded  seems  not  to  have  lasted 
long.  The  destruction  of  Jerusalem  and  its  Temple 
appears  to  have  soon  put  an  end  to  it.  But  the  gene- 
ral tendency  towards  this  violation  of  Christian  Unity, 
being  not  peculiar  to  the  Jews,  but  a  part  of  human 
nature,  has  shewn  itself  again  and  again,  under 
various  forms,  in  various  portions  of  the  Church. 

What  are  called  the  "Monastic  Orders,"  which 
have  long  existed  in  many  Churches,  are  a  striking 
instance  of  this.  Though  the  great  mass  of  Christians 
have  been  solemnly  dedicated  to  Christ  at  baptism, 
wherein  they  engage  to  be  his  "faithful  soldiers  and 
servants;"  yet  many  have  thought  fit  to  take  on 
themselves  a  new  and  distinct  engagement,  not  bind- 
ing on  Christians  generally,  but  only  on  such  as  have 
professed  this  new  and  superior  kind  of  Christianity. 
The  members  of  such  Orders  are  often  called  the 
"  religious ;"  and  there  is  one  well-known  order  called 
the  "  Society  of  Jesus ;"  as  if  the  Church  itself  were  not 
the  Society  of  Jesus^  and  all  its  members  bound  to  be 
religious.  And  the  members  of  these  Orders  are  sup- 
posed to  possess  a  certain  extraordinary  kind  of  holi- 
ness, from  their  imposing  on  themselves  certain  re- 
strictions, and  privations,  and  other  sufferings,  accord- 
ing to  rules  laid  down,  not  by  Scripture  for  all  men,  but 
by  particular  founders  for  their  own  Order.  Now  this  is 
clearly  in  violation  of  the  Oneness  of  Christ's  religion. 

Again,  one  may  find  persons  dividing  Christians 
into  "Elect,"  and  not  Elect — those  who  are,  and  those 
who  are  not  "God's  people:"  accounting  some  Chris- 
tians "Saints,"  and  others  not;  some  "Evangelical," 


CORRUPTIONS  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  185 

and  others  not.  Though  "Saints"  was  the  very  term 
used  by  the  apostles  to  denote  what  we  call  "  Chris- 
tians ;"  and  though  it  is  plain  tliat  since  Christianity 
is  the  religion  of  the  "  Gospel"  [Evangelium],  all  doc- 
trines and  all  persons  must  be  Evangelical  or  not,  ex- 
actly in  the  same  sense,  and  in  the  same  degree,  that 
they  are,  or  are  not  Christian.'^ 

Those,  also,  who  regard  christian  Ministers  as  sacer- 
dotal Priests,  acting  as  a  kind  of  mediators  between 
God  and  the  People,  are  evidently  going  very  for  to- 
w^ards  such  a  distinction  between  Clergy  and  Laity  as 
is  at  variance  with  the  Apostolical  view  of  Christian- 
Unity, 

And,  it  may  be  added,  that  there  is  a  considerable 
number  of  persons  who  make  a  division  of  christians 
into  the  two  classes  of  Communicants  and  non-Com- 
municants. For  there  are  very  many  of  these  latter, 
who,  though  far  from  disregarding  christian  duty  alto- 
gether, or  absenting  themselves  from  public  worship, 
yet  consider  that,  so  far  from  being  a  duty,  it  would 
be  a  ivrong  thing  for  iiiem  to  attend  the  Lord's  Table, 
unless  they  were  determined  to  become  Saints  in  some 
peculiar  manner,  different  from  what  is  expected  of 
christians  generally.  And  this  they  think  it  would 
be  presumptuous  for  them  to  pretend  to.  They  regard 
themselves,  in  short,  as  an  inferior  class  of  christians. 

*  There  are,  indeed,  some  persons  who  confine  both  the  terms 
"Christian"  and  "  Evangehcal''  to  those  who  exactly  agree  with 
them  in  all  points,  and  belong  to  their  Party ;  regarding  all  others  as 
excluded  from  the  Gospel  covenant.  But  tliere  are,  again,  some  who 
make  the  distinction  above  alluded  to. 


186  RISE, 

And,  it  is  to  be  observed,  that  the  division  of  wor- 
shippers into  different  classes  in  respect  of  religious 
privileges,  belonged,  even  much  more,  to  the  Pagan 
religions,  than  to  the  Jewish.  For  among  the  Pagans, 
certain  persons  were  "initiated"  into  such  "Mysteries" 
of  their  religion  as  were  carefully  kept  secret  from  the 
vulgar.  And  this  was  not  the  case  with  the  Mosaic 
religion.*  The  division,  therefore,  of  Christians  into 
such  classes,  is  what  the  heathen  converts,  no  less  than 
the  Jewish,  would  be  inclined  to.  And  it  is,  more- 
over, something  so  natural  to  man,  that,  in  one  shape 
or  another,  it  has  appeared  in  almost  all  parts  and 
Ages  of  the  Church. 

And  so  it  is  with  most  of  the  other  corruptions  of 
Christianity.  The  particular  form  in  which  each  has 
appeared,  will  have  generally  been  determined  by  local 
and  temporary  circumstances ;  and,  when  these  circum- 
stances are  changed,  that  particular  corruption  will 
die  away,  to  reappear  (so  far  as  it  pertains  to  the  cha- 
racter of  the  "natural  man,")  under  some  new  shapes, 
in  various  countries. 

It  is  to  be  observed,  howevei*,  that  those  corruptions 
of  Christianity  which  arise  from  the  mixing  up  of  Ju- 
daism with  it,  are,  for  one  reason,  likely  to  be  more 
lasting  than  most  others,  and  to  be  oftener  revived. 
Christians  acknowledge  that  the  Mosaic  Dispensation 
came  from  God.     And  that,  and  also  the  Christian 

*  Josephus  remarki?,  as  a  distinction  between  the  Pagan  and  the 
Jewish  rehgions,  that  this  latter  made  known  to  all  the  People  the 
mysteries  of  their  religion,  while  the  Pagans  concealed  from  all  but 
those  specially  "initiated"  the  mysteries  of  theirs. 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIAXITY.  187 

Dispensation,  are  contained  in  the  volume  whicli  we 
call  the  Bible.  Now,  any  one  who  regards  the  Bible 
(which  many  Christians  do)  as  one  hook,  containing 
divine  instructions,  without  having  formed  any  clear 
notions  of  what  does  and  docs  not  belong  to  each  Dis- 
pensation, will,  of  course,  flill  into  the  greatest  confu- 
sion of  thought.  He  will  be  like  a  man  who  should 
have  received  from  his  father,  at  various  times,  a  great 
number  of  letters  containing  directions  as  to  his  con- 
duct, from  the  time  when  he  w\as  a  little  child  just 
able  to  read,  till  he  was  a  grown  man  ;  and  who  should 
lay  by  these  letters  with  care  and  reverence,  but  in  a 
confused  heap,  and  should  take  up  any  one  of  them  at 
random,  and  read  it  without  any  reference  to  its  daie^ 
whenever  he  needed  his  father's  instructions  how 
to  act. 

Accordingly,  many  erroneous  notions,  wholly  or 
partly  drawn  from  Judaism,  have  again  and  again 
found  their  way  into  the  christian  Church. 

For  example,  there  have  been  in  almost  all  Ages 
of  the  Church,  persons  who  have  taught  that  Jesus 
Christ  is  to  come  upon  earth  and  reign  in  great  worldly 
splendour  at  Jerusalem  for  a  thousand  years  ;  which 
period  is  thence  called  Millennium.  And  superior 
privileges,  as  God's  peculiar  People,  are  then  to  be 
restored  (according  to  this  doctrine)  to  the  Jews;  that 
is,  to  such  Jews  as  shall  have  continued  unbelievers ; 
not  to  the  descendants  of  those  great  multitudes  of 
them  who  embraced  Christianity  in  the  days  of  the 
Apostles,  and  since,  and  who  thereupon  soon  became 
blended  with  the  Gentile  Christians.    But  the  remnant 


188  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

of  the  Jews  who  shall  have  obstinately  rejected  the 
Gospel  up  to  that  time,  are  then  to  be  restored  to  their 
own  land,  and  to  have  a  superiority  in  God's  sight 
over  men  of  Gentile  race.  And  the  Temple  at  Jeru- 
salem is  to  be  restored,  and  to  be  again  the  place  of 
peculiar  holiness,  whither  all  men  are  to  resort  to 
worship. 

Now  these  expectations  of  a  Christ,  who  is  to  be  a 
great  and  victorious  temporal  king,  and  of  a  kingdom 
of  earthly  glory,  and  of  the  restoration  of  the  Temple, 
and  of  the  exaltation  of  the  Jews  above  all  other  peo- 
ple, are  precisely  those  which  the  Jewish  nation  were 
so  wedded  to  when  our  Lord  came,  and  which  led 
most  of  them  to  reject  Him. 

There  are  several  other  religious  errors  which  have 
arisen  from  the  same  cause, — tlie  practice  of  confusedly 
blending  together  the  Law  and  the  Gospel.  Thus, 
some  persons,  as  we  had  before  occasion  to  remark, 
represent  temporal  rewards  and  punishments  as  a  part 
of  the  sanction  of  the  Christian  Dispensation ;  and 
again,  future  rewards  and  punishments  as  a  part  of 
the  sanction  of  the  Mosaic.  And  this,  as  we  have  al- 
ready said,  destroys  all  clear  notions  of  either  system, 
and  leads  to  great  and  dangerous  practical  errors,  be- 
sides exposing  our  Scriptures  to  unanswerable  objec- 
tions from  infidels. 

And  again,  the  introduction  into  Christianity  of 
sacerdotal  Priests,'^  Altars,  Sacrifices,  and  Temples, 

*  Oar  word  "  Priest "  is  formed  from  Ui)f:a/:vT-of)i  •  which  is  trans- 
lated an  "Elder,"  in  our  version  of  tlie  Bible.  But  the  word  which 
our  translators   have   rendered    ^'- Priest  ^^  is,   in  the  original  Greek, 


COIIRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  189 

which  is  so  utterly  repugnant  to  the  whole  character 
of  the  Gospel,  may  be  traced  both  to  Judaism  and 
to  Paganism.  For  all  these  things  were  common  to 
them  both ;  though  the  Jewish  Priests  offered  sacri- 
fices to  the  true  God,  and  the  Pagan  Priests  to  idols. 

The  Priests  of  the  Israelites  were  appointed  by  the 
Almighty  Himself,  for  the  express  purpose  of  offering 
sacn'Jices^  in  the  name  and  on  the  behalf  of  the  people; 
they  alone  were  allowed  to  make  oblations  and  burn 
incense  before  the  Lord ;  and  it  was  through  them 
that  the  People  were  to  approach  Him,  that  their  ser- 
vice might  be  acceptable.  A  very  great  portion  of 
the  Jewish  religion  consisted  in  the  performance  of 
certain  ceremonial  rites,  most  of  which  could  only  be 
duly  performed  by  the  Priests,  or  through  their  media- 
tion and  assistance ;  they  were  to  make  intercession 
and  atonement  for  offenders ;  they,  in  short,  were  the 
mediators  between  God  and  Man. 

And  among  the  Pagans,  whose  institutions  appear 
to  have  been,  in  great  measure,  corrupt  imitations  of 
those  of  the  Patriarchal  religion,  we  find,  in  like  man- 


'LjOtiV,  in  Latin  Sacerdos,  and  is  always  applied  to  a  sacrificing  minis- 
ter. And  the  word  is  never  applied  to  any  one  under  the  Christian 
dispensation,  except  Jesus  Christ  alone,  our  great  and  only  High  Priest, 
who  offered  up  Himself  a  sacrifice  for  man's  redemption. 

Now  we  may  be  sure  that,  if  the  Apostles  had  ordained  any  one  to 
the  office  of  a  sacerdotal  priest,  or  had  designed  that  there  should  be 
any  such  in  the  christian  Church,  there  would  have  been  mention  made 
of  it  in  the  Book  of  Acts,  and  in  the  Apostolic  Epistles. 

Whenever  the  title  of  priest  ['Icuu.]  is  applied  to  any  Christians, 
it  is  applied  to  all  Christians  (Rev.  v.  10,  and  1  Pet  ii.  9)  as  offering 
up  themselves  to  God. 


100 


ner,  Priests,  who  were  principally,  if  not  exclusively, 
the  offerers  of  sacrifices,  in  behalf  of  the  State  and  of 
individuals, — intercessors,  supplicating  and  making 
atonement  for  others, — mediators,  as  before,  between 
Man  and  the  object  of  his  worship. 

The  office  of  priest,  then,  in  that  sense  of  the  word 
Avhich  we  are  now  considering,  viz.,  as  equivalent  to 


r^sjc 


being  such   as  has  been  described,  it  follows 


that  in  our  religion,  the  only  priest,  in  that  sense,  is 
Jesus  Christ  Himself;  to  whom  consequentlj^,  and  to 
whom  alone,  under  the  Gospel,  the  title  is  applied  by 
the  inspired  Writers.  He  alone  has  offered  up  an 
atoning  sacrifice  for  us,  even  the  sacrifice  of  his  own 
blood;  He  "ever  liveth  to  make  intercession  for  us;" 
He  is  the  "one  Mediator  between  God  and  man;" 
"through  Him  we  have  access  to  the  Father;  and  no 
man  cometh  unto  the  Father,  but  by  Him." 

As  for  the  Ministers  whom  He,  and  his  Apostles, 
and  their  successors,  appointed,  they  are  completely 
distinct  from  Priests  in  the  former  sense,  in  office,  as 
well  as  in  name.  Of  this  office  one  principal  part  is, 
that  it  belongs  to  them  (not  exclusively  indeed,  but 
principally  and  especially)  to  preach  the  Gospel, — to 
instruct,  exhort,  admonish,  and  spiritually  govern, 
Christ's  flock.  His  command  was  to  "go  and  teach 
all  nations;" — to  "preach  the  Gospel  to  every  crea- 
ture;" and  these  christian  Ministers  are  called  in  the 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  "those  that  bear  rule  over 
them,  and  watch  for  their  souls,  as  they  that  must 
give  an  account."  Now  it  is  worthy  of  remark,  that 
the  office  we  are  at  present  speaking  of  made  no  part 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  191 


of  the  especial  duties  of  a  Priest,  in  the  other  sense, 
such  as  those  of  the  Jews,  and  of  the  Pagans. 
Among  the  former,  it  was  not  so  much  the  family  of 
Aaron,  as  the  whole  tribe  of  Levi,  that  seem  to  have 
been  set  aside  for  the  purpose  of  teacliing  the  Law  ; 
and  even  to  these  it  was  so  far  from  being^  in  anv 
degree  confined,  that  persons  of  any  tribe  might 
teach  publicly  in  the  synagogues  on  the  Sabbath-day; 
as  was  done  by  our  Lord  Himself,  who  was  of  the 
tribe  of  Judah,  and  Paul,  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin, 
without  any  objection  being  raised ;  whereas  an  in- 
trusion into  the  Priest's  office  would  have  been  vehe- 
mentl}^  resented. 

And  as  for  the  Pagan  Priests,  their  business  was 
rather  to  conceal,  than  to  explain,  the  mysteries  of 
their  religion  ; — to  keep  the  people  in  darkness,  than 
to  enlighten  them.  Accordingly  the  moral  improve- 
ment of  the  people,  among  the  ancients,  seems  to  have 
been  considered  as  the  proper  care  of  the  legislator ; 
■whose  laws  and  system  of  public  education  generally 
had  this  object  in  view.  To  these  and  to  the  public 
disputations  of  philosophers,  but  not  at  all  to  the 
Priests  of  their  religion,  they  appear  to  have  looked 
for  instruction  in  their  duty. 

That  the  Christian  Ministry,  on  the  contrary,  was 
appointed  in  great  measure,  if  not  principally,  for  the 
purpose  of  giving  religious  instruction  and  admo- 
nition, is  clearly  proved  both  by  the  practice  of  the 
Apostles  themselves,  and  by  Paul's  directions  to 
Timothy  and  to  Titus. 

Another,  and  that  a  peculiar  and  exclusive  office 


192 


of  the  Christian  Ministers,  is,  the  administration  of 
tlie  Sacraments  of  Baptism  and  of  the  Lord's  supper. 
But  this  administration  does  not  at  all  assimilate  the 
Christian  Priesthood  to  the  Pagan,  or  the  Jewish. 
The  former  of  these  rites  is,  in  the  first  place,  an 
admission  into  the  visible  Church  ;  and  therefore  very 
suitably  received  at  the  hands  of  those  whose  especial 
business  is  to  instruct  and  examine  those  who  are 
candidates  for  baptism,  as  adults,  or  who  have  been 
baptised  in  their  infancy ;  and  in  the  second  place,  it 
is  an  admission  to  a  participation  in  the  gifts  of  the 
Spirit,  which  constitute  the  Church  "the  temple  of 
the  Holy  Ghost."  The  treasury,  as  it  were,  of  divine 
grace  is  then  thrown  open,  to  which  we  may  resort 
when  a  sufficient  maturity  of  years  enables  us  to 
understand  our  wants,  and  we  are  inclined  to  appl}^ 
for  their  relief.  It  is  not,  let  it  be  observed,  through 
the  mediation  of  an  earthly  Priest  that  we  are  ad- 
mitted to  offer  our  supplications  before  God's  mercy- 
seat  ;  we  are  authorised,  by  virtue  of  this  sacred  rite, 
to  appear  as  it  were  in  his  presence  ourselves ;  needing 
no  intercessor  with  the  Father,  but  his  Son  Jesus 
Christ,  both  God  and  man.  "Having  therefore,"  says 
Paul,  ^^  boldness  to  enter  into  the  holiest  by  the  blood 
of  Jesus,  by  a  new  and  living  way,  which  he  hath 
consecrated  for  us,  and  having  an  High  Priest  over 
the  house  of  God,  let  us  draw  near  with  a  true  heart, 
in  full  assurance  of  faith,  having  our  hearts  sprinkled 
from  an  evil  conscience,  and  our  bodies  washed  with 
pure  water." 

The  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  again,  is  not, 


CORRUPTIONS  OF   CHRISTIANITY.  193 

as  the  Eomanists  unwarrantably  pretend,  a  fresh  sa- 
crifice, but  manifestly  a  celebration  of  the  one  already 
made.  And  the  rite  seems  plainly  to  have  been 
ordained  for  the  express  purpose  (among  others)  of 
fixing  our  minds  on  the  great  and  single  oblation  of 
Himself,  made  by  the  only  High  Priest  "once  for  all ;" 
that  great  High  Priest  who  has  no  earthly  successor. 
And  all  the  communicants  are  alike  partakers,  spirit- 
ually, of  the  Body  and  Blood  of  Christ  (i.  e.  of  His 
Spirit),  of  which  these  are  the  emblems,  provided 
they  themselves  are  in  a  sanctified  and  right  frame  of 
mind.  It  is  on  the  personal  holiness  of  the  Commu- 
nicant, not  of  the  Minister,  that  the  efficacy  of  the 
sacrament  depends ;  7ie,  so  far  from  offering  any 
sacrifice  himself,  refers  them  to  the  sacrifice  already 
made  by  another. 

Such  being,  then,  the  respective  offices  of  these 
two  Orders  of  men  (both  now  commonly  called  in 
English,  "Priests,"  but  originally  distinguished  by 
the  names  of  Hiereus  and  Presbi/ieros),  we  may  assert 
that  the  word  in  question  is  ambiguous;  denoting, 
when  thus  applied  to  both,  two  things  essentially  dis- 
tinct. It  is  not  merely  a  comprehensive  term,  em- 
bracing two  species  under  one  class,  but  rather  an 
equivocal  term,  applied,  in  different  senses,  to  two 
things  of  different  classes.  At  least,  it  must  be 
admitted,  that  what  is  most  essential  to  each  respec- 
tively, is  wanting  in  the  other.  The  essential  charac- 
teristic of  the  Jewish  Priests,  was  (not  their  being 
ministers  of  religion ;  for  that,  in  a  certain  sense,  all 
the  Levites  were,   but)  their  offering  sacrifices^  and 

9 


194 


making  atonement  and  intercession  for  tlie  people ; 
whereas,  of  the  Christian  Minister,  the  especial  office 
is  religious  instruction,  and  the  administration  of  rites 
altoofether  different  in  their  nature  from  the  oflferinp; 
of  sacrifices ;  totally  precluding  the  idea  of  his  being 
himself  the  mediator  between  God  and  Man. 

And  the  contrast  in  this  point,  between  the  christian 
religion  on  the  one  hand,  and  all  that  exist,  or  ever 
existed,  besides  it  (including  the  Jewish),  on  the  other, 
will  afford,  if  we  rightly  consider  when,  and  by  whom, 
our  faith  was  introduced,  one  of  the  most  powerful 
evidences  of  its  truth. 

The  Apostles,  though  attentive  to  the  regular 
government  of  the  churches  they  founded,  ordaining, 
for  various  services.  Elders,  and  other  Ministers,  male 
and  female,  (the  latter  being  known  by  the  title  of 
"  Widows,")  yet  appointed  no  order  of  Priests  in  the 
sense  of  Hiereus  (familiar  as  they  must  have  been 
with  the  name),  answering  to  the  sacrificing  Priests 
of  the  Jewish  and  of  the  Pagan  religions.  The  same 
observation  will  apply  to  the  Temple.  The  term  was 
familiar  to  the  New  Testament  writers;  but  it  is 
never  once  applied  by  them  to  a  christian  place  of 
worship ;  always  to  the  worshippers  themselves  col- 
lectively ; — to  the  christian  congregation ;  as  e.  g. 
"Know  ye  not  that  ye  are  the  temple  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  which  dwelleth  in  you?"  "Your  body  is  the 
temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  "Ye,  as  lively  stones, 
are  builded  together  into  an  holy  temple,"  &c. 

All  this  is  indeed  perfectly  intelligible  to  any  one 
who  understands  the  character  of  our  religion.     It  is 


CORRUPTIONS  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  195 

perfectly  consistent  with  the  Gospel  scheme ;  but  it  is 
utterly  at  variance  with  the  notions  which  would 
naturally  have  occurred  to  the  unassisted  mind  of 
Man. 

A  further  proof  of  this,  if  further  could  be  needed, 
is  furnished  bv  the  chano^es  which  were  introduced  in 
after  ages.  The  very  institution  which  Christianity 
in  its  pure  state  had  abrogated,  was  grafted  into  it, 
as  it  became  corrupted  with  human  devices.  An 
order  of  Priests  in  the  ancient  sense,  offering  pre- 
tended sacrifices,  on  a  pretended  altar,  in  behalf  of 
the  People,  was  introduced  into  the  christian  scheme, 
in  such  utter  contradiction  both  to  the  spirit,  and  the 
very  letter  of  it,  that  they  were  driven  to  declare  the 
bread  and  wine  of  the  Eucharist  miraculously  changed 
into  literal  flesh  and  blood  offered  up  day  by  day 
repeatedly  ;  although  the  founders  of  our  religion  had 
not  only  proclaimed  the  perfection  of  the  one  oblation 
of  our  Lord  by  Himself,  but  had  even  proved  the 
imperfection  of  the  Levitical  sacrifices,  from  the  very 
circumstance  of  their  being  repeated  "year  by  year 
continually ;"  inasmuch  as  they  would  have  ctased 
(says  the  Apostle)  "to  be  offered,"  if,  like  the  sacrifice 
of  Christ,  "once  for  all,"  they  could  "have  made  the 
comers  thereunto  perfect."  Now,  if  when  the  religion 
Jiad  actually  been  established  without  uAltar,  ivithout 
Sacrifice^  ivithout  Priest  on  earthy  all  these  were  intro- 
duced into  it,  in  opposition  to  its  manifest  character, 
through  the  strong  craving  (if  we  may  so  speak)  of 
"the  natural  man"  after  them;  how  much  more  might 
we  expect — with  what  complete  certainty — that  men 


196  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

brought  up  Jews,  and  having  never  seen  or  heard  of 
any  religion,  true  or  false,  without  Priests,  would  have 
instituted,  had  they  been  left  to  themselves,  an  order 
of  sacrificing  Priests  in  their  new  religion?  And  how 
certain,  that,  since  they  carefully  abstained  from  this 
and  provided  against  it  in  the  terms  they  employed; 
• — how  certain — that  they  w^ere  not  left  to  themselves, 
but  proceeded  under  the  guidance  of  a  divine  director? 

The  corruptions  then  subsequently  introduced  into 
Christian  churches,  in  respect  of  the  Priesthood,  do  in 
reality,  by  shewing  what  the  tendency  of  human  na- 
ture is,  go  to  prove  the  siqjerhuman  origin  of  the  ori- 
ginal institution.  These  have,  however,  afforded 
ground  for  cavil  against  Christianity  itself,  to  those 
who,  ignorantly  or  designedly,  confound  the  religion 
itself  with  this  perversion  of  it. 

The  Greek  and  Romish,  and  some  other  Churches 
have,  in  fact,  in  some  great  degree,  transformed  the 
Preshyieros^  the  Priest  of  the  Gospel  Dispensation,  into 
the  Hiereus^  or  Levitical  Priest :  thus  derogating  from 
the  honour  of  the  ONE  great  High  Priest,  and  alter- 
ing some  of  the  most  characteristic  features  of  his  re- 
ligion, into  something  more  like  Judaism  or  Paganism 
than  Christianity. 

To  enter  into  the  detail  of  this  perversion,  would 
lead  to  a  discussion  not  only  too  long  for  our  present 
purpose,  but  which  in  fact  must  have  been  forestalled 
by  any  one  who  is  at  all  acquainted  with  the  abuses 
formerly  prevailing  among  us. 

Before  the  Reformation  of  our  Church,  the  Priest 
professed,  like  the  Jewish,  to  offer  sacrifice  (the  sacri- 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  197 

iice  of  the  Mass)  to  propitiate  God  towards  himself 
and  his  congregation :  the  efficacy  of  that  sacrifice  was 
made  to  depend  on  sincerity  and  rectitude  of  inten- 
tion, not  in  the  Communicants  themselves,  but  in  the 
Priest ;  he  assuming  the  character  of  a  mediator  and 
intercessor,  prayed  not  luith  but  for  the  people,  in  a 
tongue  unknown  to  them,  and  in  an  inaudible  voice ; 
the  whole  style  and  character  of  the  Service  being 
evidently  far  different  from  what  the  Apostle  must 
have  intended,  in  commanding  us  to  "pray  for  one  an- 
other." The  Priest  undertook  to  reconcile  transgres- 
sors with  the  Almighty,  by  prescribing  penances,  to  be 
performed  by  them,  in  order  to  obtain  his  absolution ; 
and,  profanely  copying  our  only  High  Priest,  pretended 
to  transfer  to  them  his  own  merits,  or  those  of  the 
Saints.  He,  like  a  Pagan,  rather  than  a  Jewish,  Priest, 
kept  hidden  froin  the  people  the  volume  of  their  faith, 
that  they  might,  with  ignorant  reverence,  submit  to  the 
dominion  of  error,  instead  of  being  "  made  free  by  the 
truth,"  which  he  was  expressly  commissioned  to  make 
known ;  thus  hiding  the  "candle  under  a  bushel."  which 
was  designed  to  "be  a  light  to  lighten  the  nations." 
In  short,  whoever  will  minutely  examine,  with  this 
view,  the  errors  of  our  unreformed  Church,  will  find 
that  a  very  large  and  important  portion  of  them  may 
be  comprehended  under  this  one  general  censure,  that 
they  destroyed  the  true  character  of  the  Christian 
Priesthood,  substituting  for  it,  in  great  measure,  what 
cannot  be  called  a  Priesthood,  except  in  a  different  sense 
of  the  word.  These  errors,  in  short,  go  far  towards 
changing  the  office  of  Preshyteros  into  that  of  Iliereus, 


198  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

There  is  another  point  in  which  superstitions,  very 
much  like  those  of  the  Pagans,  have  corrupted  the 
worship  of  many  Christians.  We  had  occasion  to 
remark,  in  an  earlier  part  of  this  Dissertation,  that 
many  of  the  Pagan  gods  were  deceased  Men,  whom 
they  had  deified  on  account  of  some  supposed  extra- 
ordinary excellence  of  character,  and  eminent  services 
to  mankind,  or  to  their  countrymen. 

Some  of  these  they  worshipped  as  gods;  others 
under  the  title  of  demi-gods,  or  heroes.  Any  man 
whom  his  countrymen  had  been  accustomed  to  vene- 
rate very  highly  in  his  lifetime,  they  naturally  first 
tvislted^  and  then  hoijed^  and  lastly  helkved^  might  be 
elevated  after  death  to  such  an  exalted  state  as  to  en- 
able him  to  hear  them,  and  to  do  them  services,  either 
by  himself,  or  by  making  applications  on  their  behalf 
to  some  superior  god.  And  just  as  persons  in  hum- 
ble life  generally  apply  to  a  king  or  other  great  man, 
not  directly,  but  through  his  ministers  and  other  at- 
tendants, so,  a  large  portion  of  the  Pagan  worship 
was  addressed  to  some  whom  they  accounted  inferior 
gods. 

But,  moreover,  they  supposed  each  of  these  inferior 
deities  to  have  a  special  regard  for  his  own  country. 
Thus  Eomulus  (Quirinus)  was  the  tutelar  god  of  Eome, 
and  Theseus  of  Athens,  &c.  And  even  private  fami- 
lies had  gods  of  their  own,  who  among  the  Romans 
were  called  ''Lares,"  and  "Penates."  And  the  supe- 
rior gods  also  were  supposed  to  have  partialities  for 
particular  regions  or  races.  Thus  Minerva  [Pallas] 
was  tutelar  goddess  of  Athens ;  and  Diana  [Artem.is] 


CORRUPTIONS  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  199 

of  Epliesus:  and  Juno,  of  Argos  and  Samos,  &c. 
The  poiver  also  of  many  of  their  gods  was  supposed 
to  be  limited  to  particular  places,  or  to  particular 
offices.  Thus,  we  find  the  Syrians  fancying  that  the 
God  of  Israel  was  the  God  of  the  hills  (1  Kings  xx. 
23),  and  would  not  be  able  to  succor  his  People  on  the 
plains.  And  Castor  and  Pollux  were  supposed  to 
protect  sailors,  &c. 

And  moreover,  there  were  certain  images  and  tem- 
ples, which  were  supposed  to  have  a  superior  sanctity 
above  other  images  and  temples  of  the  same  god. 
And  again,  some  particular  temples  were  resorted  to 
by  those  who  had  need  of  some  particular  kind  of 
service.  Thus,  oracles  were  supposed  to  be  given  by 
Apollo,  not  in  every  one  of  his  temples,  but  only  in 
those  at  Delos,  and  Delphi,  and  some  others.  And  it 
was  the  like  with  respect  to  various  other  benefits 
sought  for  from  several  of  the  gods. 

Such,  then,  being  the  natural  tendency  of  mankind, 
the  consequence  was  that  many  Christians,  though 
they  did  not  introduce  into  the  christian  Religion  the 
worship  of  the  very  same  gods  which  were  worshipped 
by  their  pagan  forefathers,  yet  fell  into  the  same  kind 
of  superstitions. 

Their  deep  reverence  for  the  Blessed  Virgin,  and 
for  the  Apostles  and  other  eminent  Christians,  led 
them  to  hope,  and  then  to  believe,  that  these  persons 
were  able  after  their  departure  from  Earth,  to  hear  any 
one  who  called  on  them,  and  to  make  prayers  of  in- 
tercession for  them.  And  the  evil  of  this  practice  of 
invoking  departed  Saints,  was, — and  still  is,  to  many 


200  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

Christians — disguised  by  their  overlooking  the  differ- 
ence between  asking  the  prayers  of  the  living  and  of 
the  departed.  No  doubt  many  persons  entreated  (as 
Simon  the  Sorcerer  did,  Acts  viii.)  Peter  or  other 
Apostles  to  pray  for  them.  And  James  expressly 
exhorts  Christians  to  pray  for  one  another  (Jas.  i. 
16).  No  Christian  need  scruple  to  ask  any  one  whom 
he  considers  to  be  a  pious  and  worthy  man  to  pray 
for  him.  But  when  it  came  to  be  believed  that  a  holy 
person,  when  removed  from  the  Earthy  can  hear  the  ad- 
dresses of  thousands  and  millions  of  his  votaries  call- 
ing on  him  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  and  know  the 
secret  dispositions  of  mind  in  each  several  person  that 
invokes  him,  this  belief  did  in  fact  deify  him. 

"Whatever  subtle  explanations  may  be  attempted 
of  the  way  in  which  glorified  "saints"  are  able  to 
hear,  from  various  regions,  and  to  repeat,  more  pray- 
ers in  the  day  than  there  are  minutes  in  the  twenty- 
four  hours,  it  is  plain  that  at  least  the  great  mass  of 
their  worshippers  must  regard  them  no  less  as  gods 
than  the  ancient  pagans  did  the  Beings  they  worship- 
ped. 

The  consequence  was,  that  the  chief  part  of  the 
w^orship  which  is  due  to  the  "Jealous  God"  came  to 
be  paid  to  the  Virgin  Mary,  and  those  other  "Saints" 
(amounting  to  several  hundreds),  who  were,  from  time 
to  time,  enrolled  on  the  list. 

And  thus  did  Christians  introduce  into  their  Re- 
ligion, under  new  names,  almost  every  one  of  the 
ancient  pagan  superstitions  just  above  noticed.  They 
knelt  before  images  and  pictures  of  the  saint  they  in- 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  201 

voked.  They  attributed  peculiar  holiness  to  some 
particular  image,  or  chapel,  above  others  dedicated  to 
the  same  saint.  They  had  patron  saints  (answering 
to  the  tutelar  gods  of  the  Pagans)  presiding  over  par- 
ticular nations,  or  classes,  or  persons.  One  saint, 
again,  was  supposed  to  be  peculiarly  powx^rful  in  pro- 
curing some  particular  kind  of  relief  or  benefit;  and 
another,  in  another  kind.  In  short,  we  have  only  to 
look  back  to  what  has  been  just  said  of  the  Pagan 
worship,  and  we  shall  see  how  closely  it  corresponds 
in  every  point  (besides  many  more  which  might  have 
been  added)  with  the  worship  which  has  been,  in  some 
Churches,  introduced  into  Christianity. 

And,  on  the  other  hand,  if  we  look  to  the  Scrip- 
tures, we  shall  plainly  see  that  it  is  not  thence  that 
the  invocation  of  Saints  could  have  been  derived. 
They  not  only  contain  nothing  to  warrant  it,  but  they 
seem  framed  purposely  to  guard  all  who  are  sincerely 
desirous  of  following  Scripture,  against  this  ver^' 
corruption.  Though  we  find  in  the  Book  of  Acts 
narratives  of  the  death  (Acts  vii.,  xii.)  of  the  two 
martyrs,  Stephen,  and  James  the  Apostle,  the  brother 
of  John,  there  is  no  mention  of  their  being  invoked 
after  death.  And  when  God  saw  fit  to  convey  his 
commands  to  Cornelius,  and  again  to  Paul  (Acts  x., 
XX vii.)  by  a  created  Being,  it  is  not  either  of  these 
blessed  martyrs,  but  an  Angel,  that  is  sent. 

The  Virgin  Mary,  again,  is  hardly  so  much  as 
named  throughout  the  Acts*  and  Apostolic  Epistles. 
Now  this  silence  respecting  her  is  utterly  inconceiva- 

*  Ouce  very  slightly,  in  Acts  i. 

9* 


202  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

ble,  supposing  it  had  been  the  practice  of  the  early 
Christians  to  pray  to  her.  In  the  Gospels,  again,  she 
is  but  rarely  mentioned. 

Even  John,  her  adopted  son,  though  in  all  likeli- 
hood he  must  bave  long  outlived  her,  does  not  record 
her  death,  nor  give  any  particulars  of  her  life ;  and 
yet  he  wrote,  as  is  universally  believed,  purposely  to 
supply  the  omissions  of  the  other  Evangelists.  And 
it  is  remarkable  that  we  gather  from  him  incidentally^ 
and  only  incidentally^  that  Mary  had  usually  resided 
with  Jesus,  who,  at  his  death,  committed  her  to  the 
care  of  the  Beloved  Disciple;  and  "from  that  time 
he  took  her  to  his  home."  Why  this  sparing  and  un- 
frequent  mention  of  her  whom  "all  generations  should 
call  blessed,"  and  who  must  have  been  personally  so 
well  known  to  many  of  the  most  eminent  disciples? 

Humanly  speaking,  this  seems  to  us  impossible." 
We  are  left, — we  are  driven,  to  suppose  that  the 
divine  Spirit  which  guided  the  sacred  Writers,  led 
them,  whether  consciously  or  unconsciously,  to  sup- 
press what  they  would  naturally  have  recorded,  in 
order  to  guard  against  that  superstitious  veneration 
for  the  Virgin  Mary,  to  which,  as  experience  shews, 
there  is  naturally  so  strong  a  tendency  in  the  minds 
of  Christians.  And  the  few  passages  which  do  allude 
to  her,  furnish  a  strong  confirmation  of  the  soundness 
of  this  conclusion.  Thc}^  are  chiefly  such  as  are  cal- 
culated, and  apparently  designed,  to  repress  supersti- 
tious veneration.  One  of  them  records  that,  when  the 
mother  and  other  kindred  of  our  Lord  were  announced 
as  desiring  to  speak  with  Him,  He  took  occasion  to 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  203 

point  out  that  these  had  no  claim,  on  that  ground,  to 
especial  reverence;  He  turned  to  his  disciples,  and 
said,  "  Behold  my  mother  and  my  brethren !"  Upon 
another  occasion,  when  a  woman  exclaimed — "  Blessed 
is  the  womb  that  bare  Thee,  and  the  paps  that  Thou 
hastsucked" — He  replied,  "Yea,  ra^/ier  blessed  are  they 
that  hear  the  word  of  God  and  keep  it."  One  of  those 
who  did  so,  was,  we  may  be  sure,  his  mother  herself; 
but  the  mere  circumstance  of  her  being  his  mother^  did 
not,  as  He  declares,  imply  a  blessedness  equal  to  that 
of  the  humblest  of  his  faithful  hearers.  Does  not  the 
record  of  these  allusions  to  one  of  whom  so  little  is  re- 
corded, seem  expressly  designed  to  guard  against  that 
superstitious  error,  to  which  the  tendency  is  so  natu- 
ral, and,  as  experience  has  shewn,  so  strong? 

Once  more,  it  is  mentioned  in  the  narrative  con- 
tained in  the  second  chapter  of  St.  John's  Gospel,  that 
the  mother  of  Jesus  was  invited,  as  well  as  himself, 
and  his  disciples,  to  the  marriage-feast  at  Cana.  She 
seems  to  have  been  apprised  of  his  design  to  perform 
the  miracle ;  for  she  applied  to  him  when  the  wine 
was  deficient.  His  answer  has  not  that  roughness, 
indeed,  which  our  English  translation  gives  it,  from 
the  use  of  the  term  "  woman."  The  word  in  the 
original  is  one  which  denotes  no  disrespect;  being 
found  in  the  classical  Greek  writers  applied  even  to  a 
queen.  But  He  plainly  forbids  her  interference,  tell- 
ing her  that  the  time  is  not  yet  come  for  the  display 
of  his  miraculous  power.  Now,  why  is  her  applica- 
tion to  him,  and  his  reply, — why  is  even  her  presence 
on  this  occasion  at   all, — mentioned   in   this   place? 


204  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

Evidently,  for  the  purpose  of  shewing  that  he  would 
do  no  miracle  at  her  bidding ;  that  his  filial  reverence 
did  not  extend  to  his  admitting  her  interference  in 
anything  connected  with  his  ministry.  It  is  a  warn- 
ing to  all  who  will  be  warned  by  Scripture,  that  they 
must  not  be  led  by  their  veneration  for  the  mother  of 
Jesus,  to  look  for  her  intercession  for  them  with  her 
Son.  "There  is  one  mediator  between  God  and 
Man,"  Jesus  Christ — between  Him  and  Man — none. 
He  is  himself  ever  at  hand ;  and  if  any  man  will 
seek  to  do  his  will,  "  He  will  come  unto  him,  and  make 
his  abode  in  him  by  his  Spirit." 

Any  one,  therefore,  who  carefully  follows  the  teach- 
ing of  the  Evangelists  and  Apostles,  will  be  pre- 
served from  such  errors  as  we  have  been  speaking  of. 
But  it  was  the  disposition  of  "  the  Natural  Man  "  that 
originally  led  the  Pagans  to  corrupt  the  Keligion 
revealed  to  the  earliest  generations,  and  to  "  worship 
the  creature  more  than  the  Creator."  And  that  very 
same  disposition  has  led  many  of  those  Christians  who 
neglect  the  guidance  of  Scripture,  to  introduce  like 
corruptions  into  Christianity. 

III.  In  addition  to  these  sources  of  corruption,  the 
tendency  already  mentioned  to  introduce  philosophi- 
cal speculations  into  Christianity  has  shewn  itself 
again  and  again  under  various  forms,  in  all  ages  of 
the  Church,  and  has  given  rise  to  a  multitude  of  here- 
sies. 

Philosophy  is  not  at  all  opposed  to  true  Religion, 
as  long  as  men  confine  their  speculations  to  mat- 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  205 

ters  which  properly  come  within  the  Province  of 
Keason.^* 

But  in  w^iat  relates  to  Divine  Revelations,  Reason 
should  be  confined  to  these  two  points : — 1^  To  judge 
of  tlie  grounds  on  which  any  professed  revelation 
should  be  received  or  rejected,  as  being  '*  from  Hea- 
ven, or  of  men ;"  and  2o?/y,  To  determine  what  it  is 
that  we  are  enabled  and  required  to  learn  from  the 
Revelation  which  God  has  actually  given. 

The  restless  spirit  of  philosophising,  however,  was 
not  easy  to  be  subdued,  or  to  be  confined  within  these 
limits.  Even  during  the  times  of  the  Apostles,  and 
still  more  after  their  departure,  many  philosophers, 
on  embracing  Christianity,  transgressed  their  proper 
limits,  and  sought  to  exercise  their  ingenuity  on  that 
subject — one  of  so  much  interest  and  importance — in 
order  to  maintain  their  superiority  over  the  vulgar, 
even  in  the  knowledge  of  divine  mysteries.  They 
acknowledged,  for  the  most  part,  that  the  christian 
revelation  had  made  known  things  pertaining  to  God, 
which  could  not  otherwise  have  been  known  :  but 
these  things  they  seem  to  have  regarded  as  fresh  male- 
rials  for  human  reason  to  work  upon ;  and  when  the 
illumination  from  heaven — the  rays  of  revelation — 
failed  to  shed  full  light  on  the  Gospel  dispensation, 
they  brought  to  the  dial-plate  the  lamp  of  human 
philosophy.f 

*  It  is  remarked  by  Locke,  that  tliose  who  are  for  laying  aside  the 
use  of  Reason  in  matters  pertaining  to  Revelation,  resemble  one  who 
should  jmi  out  his  eyts  in  order  to  make  use  of  a  tekscope. 

\  Some  persons  have  been  so  much  struck  with  the  resemblanco 


206 


Accordingly,  we  find  in  very  early  times,  curious 
questions  raised  concerning  the  incarnation,  and  the 
nature  and  person  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  One  system  so 
ancient  as  to  be  alluded  to  by  John  in  his  Epistle, 
represented  Jesus  Christ  as  not  really  "come  in  the 
flesh,"  but  as  a  man  in  appearance  only.  Other  sj^s- 
tems  made  Jesus  to  have  been  born  a  mere  human 
heing^  on  whom,  at  his  baptism,  a  certain  emanation 
(which  they  called  Christ)  from  the  divine  fulness, 
descended  and  dwelt  in  Ilini.  And  endless  were  the 
questions  raised,  and  the  different  hypotheses  set  up,  as 
to  the  manner  in  which  the  divine  nature  was  united 
with  the  human  in  Jesus  Christ;  whether  He  was 
properly  to  be  called  one  person,  or  two ;  whether  the 
Virgin  Mary  were  properly  to  be  styled  the  Mother 
of  God;  whether  Christ  should  be  regarded  as  of 
one  substance^  or  of  like  substance  with  the  Father; 
whether  the  Deity  suffered  at  the  crucifixion ;  in  what 
way  the  sacrifice  of  Christ  was  accepted  as  a  satisfac- 
tion for  sin  ;  luhy  this  sacrifice  was  necessary  ;  besides 
(in  later  times)  an  infinite  number  of  equally  subtle 
speculations  as  to  the  nature  of  the  Trinity, — the 
divine  decrees^ —  and,  in  short,  everything  pertaining 
to  the  intrinsic  nature  of  the  Supreme  Being,  and  the 

between  some  of  Plato's  speculations,  and  those  of  certain  ancient 
Theologians,  respecting  the  Trinity,  as  even  to  imagine  that  he  must 
have  received  some  revelation  from  Heaven ! 

But  instead  of  concluding  that  Plato  had  imparted  to  him  by  inspi- 
ration knowledge  beyond  what  was  communicated  to  the  Apostles — 
or  at  least  beyond  what  they  were  commissioned  to  teach — we  ought 
rather  to  infer  that  those  Theologians  had  corrupted  the  simplicity  of 
the  Gospel  by  mixing  up  with  it  Plato's  philosophy. 


CORRUPTIONS  OF   CHRISTIANITY.  207 

explanation  of  all  bis  designs  and  proceedings.  And 
yet  the  motions  of  the  earth,  and  the  circulation  of 
the  blood,  were  not  discovered  till  many  ages  after. 
The  cause  of  the  vital  warmth  in  animals,  philoso- 
phers are  not  even  yet  agreed  on  ;  nor  is  it  decided 
whether  light,  heat,  and  electricity,  are  substances,  or 
qualities  of  bodies.  But  as  to  the  substance  of  the  Su- 
preme Being,  and  of  the  human  soul,  many  men  were 
(and  are  still)  confident  in  their  opinions,  and  dogma- 
tical in  maintaining  them  ;  the  more,  inasmuch  as  in 
these  subjects  they  could  not  be  refuted  by  an  appeal 
to  experiment. 

All  these  various  systems  of  philosophical  theology 
were  discussed  in  language  containing  technical  terms 
more  numerous  than  those  of  almost  any  science ; 
some  of  them  taken  from  the  sacred  Writers  (we  may 
say,  in  every  sense  of  the  ])hrase,  taken  from  them," 
since  hardly  any  theologian  confined  himself  to  their 
use  of  the  terms),  and  others  not  found  in  Scripture, 
but  framed  for  each  occasion.  These  were  introduced 
professed]}^  for  the  purpose  of  putting  down  heresies 
as  they  arose.  That  they  did  not  efltoct  this  object, 
we  know  by  experience  ;  which,  indeed,  would  lead  us 
to  conclude,  that  heresies  were  by  this  means  rather 
multiplied.  We  are  inclined  to  think,  that  if  all 
Christians  had  always  studied  the  Scriptures  carefully 
and  honestly,  and  relied  on  these  more  than  on  their 
own  philosophical  systems  of  divinity,  the  Incarna- 
tion, for  instance,  and  the  Trinity,  would  never  have 
been  doulted^  nor  ever  named.  And  this  at  least  is 
certain,  that  as  scientific  theories  and  technical  phra- 


208 


seology  gained  ground,  party  animosity  raged  the 
more  violently.  The  advocates  of  the  several  sys- 
tems did  not,  like  the  ancient  heathen  philosophers, 
carry  on  a  calm  and  friendly  dispute,  but  (to  the  dis- 
grace of  the  Christian  name)  reviled,  and  (when 
opportunity  offered)  persecuted  each  other,  with  the 
utmost  bitterness.  For  each  of  them  having  not  only 
placed  the  essence  of  Christianity  in  faith,  but  the 
essence  of  faith  in  the  adoption  of  his  own  hypothe- 
sis, and  strict  adherence  to  his  own  use  of  the  techni- 
cal terms  of  his  theology,  w^as  led  hence  to  condemn 
all  departures  from  his  system,  as  involving  both 
blasphemy  against  God,  and  danger  to  the  souls  of 
men.  And  they  employed,  accordingly,  that  vio- 
lence in  the  cause  of  what  they  believed  to  be  divine 
truth,  w^hich  Jesus  Himself  and  his  Apostles  ex- 
pressly forbade  in  the  cause  of  what  they  hiew  to  be 
divine  truth.  "  The  servant  of  the  Lord,"  says  Paul, 
"  must  not  strive,  but  be  gentle  unto  all  men,  in 
meekness  instructing  them  that  oppose  themselves, 
if  God,  peradventure,  will  give  them  repentance,  to 
the  acknowledging  of  the  truth."  (2  Tim.  ii.  24, 
25.)  But  those  who  lose  sight  of  the  real  character 
and  design  of  the  Christian  revelation^  generally  lose 
also  the  mild-,  patient,  and  forbearing  sim-it  of  the 
Gospel. 

There  is  no  one  of  the  numberless  systems  we  have 
alluded  to  that  has  not  been  opposed,  and  strongly 
condemned,  by  the  advocates  of  some  different  one ; 
but  they  have  not  usually  been  condemned  on  what 
appears  to  us  to  be  the  right  ground. 


CORRUPTIONS  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  209 

The  proper  objection  to  the  various  philosophical 
systems  of  religion, — the  different  hypotheses  or  the- 
ories that  have  been  introduced  to  explain  the  Chris- 
tian Dispensation, — is,  not  the  difficulties  that  have 
been  urged  (often  with  good  reason)  against  each  sepa- 
rately; but  the  fault  that  belongs  to  all  of  them 
equally.  It  is  not  that  the  Arian  theory  of  the  incar- 
nation, for  instance,  is  wrong  for  this  reason,  and  the 
Nestorian  for  ihat^  and  the  Eutychian  for  another^  and 
so  on  ;  but  they  are  all  wrong  alike,  because  they  are 
theories^  relative  to  matters  on  which  it  is  vain,  and 
absurd,  and  irreverent,  to  attempt  forming  any  philo- 
sophical theories  whatever. 

And  the  same,  we  think,  may  be  said  of  the  various 
schemes  (devised  either  by  those  Divines  called  the 
Schoolmen,  or  by  others)  on  which  it  has  been  at- 
tempted, from  time  to  time,  to  explain  other  religious 
mysteries  also  in  the  divine  nature  and  dispensations. 
We  would  object,  for  instance,  to  the  Pelagian  theory, 
and  to  the  Calvinistic  theory,  and  the  Arminian  the- 
ory, and  others,  not  for  reasons  peculiar  to  each  one, 
but  for  such  as  apply  in  common  to  all. 

Philosophical  divines  are  continually  prone  to  for- 
get that  the  subjects  on  which  they  speculate,  are,  con- 
fessedly^ and  by  their  own  account,  beyond  the  reach 
of  the  human  faculties.  This  is  no  reason,  indeed, 
against  our  believing  any  thing  clearly  revealed  in 
Scripture;  but  it  w  a  reason  against  going  beyond 
Scripture  with  metaphysical  speculations  of  our  own. 
One  out  of  the  many  evils  resulting  from  this,  is,  that 
they  thus  lay  open  Christianity  to  infidel  objections, 


210  mSE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

such  as  it  would  otherwise  have  been  safe  from.  It 
is  too  late,  when  objections  are  alleged  from  the  diffi- 
culties involved  in  some  theory,  to  reply,  that  the 
whole  subject  is  mysterious  and  above  reason,  and 
cannot  be  satisfactorily  explained  to  our  imperfect 
faculties.  The  objector  may  answer,  "Then  you 
should  have  left  it  in  the  original  mysterious  indis- 
tinctness of  the  Scriptures.  Your  oiun  explanations 
of  the  doctrines  of  your  Scriptures  you  must  not  be 
suffered  to  make  use  of  as  far  as  thej'  are  admitted, 
and  then,  when  they  are  opposed,  to  shelter  them 
from  attack,  as  sacred  mysteries.  If  we  enter  on  the 
field  of  philosophical  argument,  we  cannot  be  allowed 
afterwards  to  shrink  back  from  fair  discussion  on  23hi- 
losophical  principles." 

It  is  wiser  and  safer,  as  well  as  more  pious  and 
humble,  and  more  agreeable  to  Christian  truth,  to 
confess,  that,  of  the  mysteries  which  have  been  so 
boldly  discussed  by  many  who  acknowledge  them  to  he 
unfathomable^  we  know  nothing  beyond  the  faint  and 
indistinct  revelations  of  Scripture ;  and  that  if  it  had 
been  possible,  and  proper,  and  designed,  that  we  should 
know  more  of  such  matters,  more  would  have  been 
there  revealed. 

And  we  should  rather  point  out  to  objectors  that 
what  is  revealed,  is  practical^  and  not  speculative : — 
that  what  the  Scriptures  are  concerned  with  is,  not 
the  philosophy  of  the  Human  Mind  in  itself,  nor  yet 
the  philosophy  of  the  Divine  Nature  in  itself,  but 
(that  which  is  properly  Religion)  the  relation  and  con- 
nection of  the  two  Beings ; — what  God  is  to  us, — 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  211 

what  He  has  done  and  will  do  for  us, — and  what  we 
are  to  be  and  to  do,  in  regard  to  Him. 

How  great  must  be  the  errors  arising  from  men's 
overlooking,  or  not  carefally  attending  to,  this  cir- 
cumstance, it  is  hardly  necessary  to  point  out.  The 
rustic,  who  persists  in  maintaining  that  the  sun  itself 
actually  moves,  because  he  sees  it  rise  and  set,  i.e. 
sees  that  it  is  in  different  positions  relatively  to  himself; 
and  the  child,  who,  while  he  is  sailing  in  a  ship,  fan- 
cies that  the  land  flies  from  him,  or  advances  towards 
him ;  are  not  more  completely  mistaken  in  their  no- 
tions, than  those  theologians  who  reason  upon  the 
accounts  which  the  Scriptures  give  us  of  the  Deity, 
as  if  these  were  intended  to  explain  to  us  what  He  is, 
absolutely,  in  Himself,  and  not  merely  what  He  is  in 
relation  to  ourselves. 

And  the  liability  to  error  is  greatly  increased  by 
this  circumstance;  that  even  the  relations  in  which 
God  stands  to  his  creatures  are  so  imperfectly  com- 
prehensible by  our  understandings,  that  it  is  necessary 
to  explain  them  by  analogical  language,  and  by  the 
use  of  such  types  and  comparisons'  as  may  furnish  to 
our  minds  a  kind  of  picture  or  image  of  heavenly 
things,  whose  correspondence  with  the  original  cannot 
of  course  be  in  all  points  complete  ;  any  more  than  a 
picture  can,  in  all  respects,  resemble  the  solid  body 
which  it  is  designed  to  imitate.  If,  therefore,  we  ex- 
tend the  analogy  further  than  was  intended,  and  con- 
clude, that  the  things  which  are  represented  as  corre- 
sponding in  some  points,  must  needs  correspond 
throughout, — or  if,  again,  we  conclude,  that  the  things 


212  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

must  be  alihe^  because  they  are  analogous,  and  bear 
similar  relations  to  something  else, — we  shall  fall  into 
the  grossest  absurdities ;  such  as  we  often  see  in  chil- 
dren, when  they  interpret  literally  the  analogical  ex- 
planations which  are  given  them. 

If  any  one  will  be  at  the  pains  to  collect  instances 
for  himself,  from  recollection  of  his  own  infancy,  and 
from  what  he  has  observed  in  other  children,  of  the 
mistakes  which  are  in  this  way  continually  committed 
by  every  child,  and  will  carefully  reflect  on  these,  not 
as  a  mere  source  of  amusement,  but  with  a  view  to 
his  own  instruction,  they  will  serve  as  a  mirror  to 
shew  what  sort  of  mistakes  he  himself  also  has  to 
guard  against,  in  the  notions  he  forms  respecting  the 
Almighty. 

To  take  one  out  of  innumerable  instances ;  how 
many  there  are  who  speak  and  reason  concerning  the 
glory  of  God  (that  being  a  phrase  which  occurs  in 
Scripture),  as  if  they  supposed,  that  the  desire  of 
glory  did  literally  influence  the  divine  Mind,  and  as 
if  God  could  really  covet  the  admiration  of  his  crea- 
tures :  not  considering  that  the  only  intention  of  this 
expression  is  to  signify  merely,  that  God's  works  are 
contrived  in  the  same  admirable  manner,  as  if  He  had 
had  this  object  in  view :  and  that  we  are  bound  to 
pay  Him  the  same  reverent  homage  and  zealous  obe- 
dience, as  if  He  were  really  and  literally  capable  of 
being  glorified  by  us.  And  yet  it  is  chiefly  from  a 
literal  interpretation  of  this  phrase  of  "  the  glory  of 
God"  that  some  Divines  have  undertaken  to  explain 
the  whole  system  of  Divine  Providence,  and  to  esta- 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  213 

blisb   some  very  revolting  and  somewhat  dangerous 
conclusions. 

The  difference  between  Religious  knowledge  pro- 
perly so  called,  and  what  may  be  more  properly  styled 
theological  Philosophy^  may  be  thus  illustrated.  Dif- 
ferent theories,  we  know,  have  prevailed  at  different 
times,  to  account  for  the  motions  of  the  planets,  and 
of  the  moon,  and  other  heavenly  bodies, — the  tides, 
and  various  other  subjects  pertaining  to  natural  phi- 
losophy. Several  of  these  theories,  which  supplanted 
one  another,  have  now  become  obsolete ;  and  modern 
discoveries  have  established,  on  good  grounds,  expla- 
nations of  most  of  these  points.  But  the  great  mass 
of  mankind  cannot  be  expected  to  understand  these 
explanations.  There  are,  however,  many  points  of 
daily  practical  use,  which  they  can  understand,  and 
which  it  is  needful  for  them  to  be  informed  upon. 
Accordingly,  there  are  printed  Tables,  showing  the 
times  of  the  sun's  rising  and  setting  at  each  period  of 
the  year, — the  appearances  of  the  moon, — the  times  of 
eclipses, — the  variations  of  the  tides,  in  different  places, 
and  the  like.  And  all  these  are  sufficiently  intelligi- 
ble, without  any  study  of  astronomy,  even  to  plain 
unlearned  men.  The  practical  knowledge  thus  con- 
veyed involves  no  astronomical  theory,  but  may  be 
equally  reconciled  with  the  Ptolemaic  or  the  Coperni- 
can  systems  of  the  universe.  It  is  not  the  less  possible, 
nor  the  less  useful,  for  any  one  to  know  the  times 
when  the  sun  gives  light  to  this  earth,  even  though  he 
should  not  know  whether  it  is  the  sun  that  moves,  or 
the  earth. 


214  lUSE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

Now  it  is  just  sucli  practical  knowledge  as  this  that 
the  Scriptures  give  us  of  the  christian  Dispensation. 
They  afford  practical  directions,  but  no  theory.  But 
there  is  this  important  difference  between  the  two  cases. 
The  human  faculties  could,  and  at  length  did,  (though 
it  is  beyond  the  great  mass  of  mankind,)  discover  the 
true  theory  of  the  appearances  and  motions  of  the 
heavenly  bodies.  In  matters  pertaining  to  divine 
Kevelation,  on  the  contrary,  though  there  must  actual- 
ly he  a  true  theory,  (since  there  must  he  reasons,  and 
those  known  to  God  Himself,  even  if  hidden  from  every 
creature^  why  He  proceeded  in  this  way  rather  than  in 
that,)  this  theory  never  can  be  known  to  us ;  because 
the  whole  subject  is  so  far  above  the  human  powers, 
that  we  must  have  remained,  but  for  Revelation,  in  the 
darkest  ignorance  concerning  it.  Many  curious  and 
valuable  truths  has  the  world  discovered  by  philoso- 
phy, (or  as  our  translators  express  it  "wisdom;")  but 
"  the  world"  (says  Paul)  "  by  wisdom  knew  not  Ood:^'' 
of  which  assertion  the  writings  of  the  ancient  heathen 
philosophers,  now  extant,  afford  sufficient  proofs. 

And,  we  would  further  remark,  that  if  it  had  been 
possible  and  allowable  for  us  to  follow  up  by  meta- 
physical researches,  the  view  opened  to  us  by  Revela- 
tion, and  thus  to  enlarge  our  knowledge  of  God's 
dealings  with  Man,  Paul  (as  well  as  the  other  Apos- 
tles) would  not  have  censured,  but  favoured,  such 
researches,  and  would  have  set  us  the  example  of  so 
speculating.  And  if  he  had  done  this,  even  in  those 
discourses  of  his  which  are  not  recorded  in  writing,  we 
may  be  sure  that  his  Gospel  would  not  have  been  con- 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  215 

sidered  as  "foolishness"  bv  the  Greeks,  even  those  of 
them  who  did  not  fully  agree  with  him.  This,  there- 
fore, supplies  a  useful  practical  rule  in  judging  of  any- 
thing we  may  read  or  hear:  whenever  we  meet  with 
such  a  representation  of  Christianity  as  would  not  have 
been  a  stumbling-block  to  the  Jews,  or  such  as  would 
not  have  been  foolishness  to  the  Greeks,  we  may  at 
once  conclude  that  this  cannot  be  the  Gospel  which  Paul 
preached.  For  he  would  not  have  been  opposed  as  he 
was,  had  his  doctrine  favoured  cither  men's  pride  and 
worldly  ambition,  or  their  spirit  of  presumptuous 
speculation. 

It  may  be  remarked,  as  another  reason  for  con- 
demning such  presumptuous  explanations,  and  meta- 
physical theories  of  Christianity,  as  we  have  alluded 
to, — all  of  them  equally, — that  if  such  speculations  be 
allowed,  it  is  evident  Christianity  must  be  not  one,  but 
tico  religions ; — that  for  the  few  profound  theologians, 
and  that  for  ordinary  men  ;  such  as  the  humble  shep- 
herds to  whom  the  holy  Angels  announced  the  birth 
of  Jesus, — the  fishermen  and  publicans  who  associated 
with  Him, — and  "  the  common  people"  who  (we  read) 
"heard  Him  gladly."  Now  there  is  nothing  more 
characteristic  of  the  Gospel  Dispensation  than  its  one- 
ness; — one  Lord, — one  faith, — one  hope, — in  short, 
one  and  the  same  religion  proposed  to  all  who  will 
heartily  receive  it. 

All  such  speculations,  then,  we  should  reject,  if  we 
would  (in  the  words  of  the  Apostle  Peter)  "desire,  as 
new  born  babes,  the  sincere  (a(JoXov,  unadulterated) 
milk  of  the  Word,  that  we  may  grow  thereby."     If  we 


216 


would  learn  the  very  gospel  which  the  Apostles  taught, 
just  as  it  was  received  by  their  hearers,  we  must  in 
heart  and  spirit  accompany  the  simple"  shepherds  in 
their  visit  "  to  Bethlehem,  to  see"  (not  what  human 
philosophy  has  devised,  but)  "  what  the  LORD  hath 
made  known  to  us." 

IV.  Many  corruptions,  again,  of  Christianity  have 
been  either  introduced,  or  favoured  and  kept  up,  by 
inoral  corruption  in  the  members  of  christian  Churches. 
For  it  belongs  to  the  true  Gospel  to  purify  and  also  to 
elevate  the  moral  character.  Hence,  there  is  a  complete 
and  constant  opposition  between  genuine  Christianity 
and  all  the  evil  and  base  propensities  of  man's  nature. 
This  is  what  Paul  means  when  he  says,  "  Walk  in  the 
Spirit,  and  ye  shall  not  fulfil  the  lusts  of  the  flesh ; 
for  the  flesh  lusteth  against  the  Spirit,  and  the  Spirit 
against  the  flesh ;  and  these  are  contrary  the  one  to 
the  other,  so  that  ye  cannot  do  the  things  that  ye 
would  :"  that  is,  he  who  has  within  him  two  contrary 
tendencies,  cannot  at  the  same  time  yield  to  both.* 

Every  kind  of  depravity  or  moral  defect,  therefore, 
predisposes  men  either  to  reject  Christianity  alto- 
gether, or  else  to  introduce,  or  to  accept,  some  erro- 

*    Taurn    6l   dXAr'/Xoij   avriKEiTai^  "va   [lii,  a  av  diXrire,  ravra    roinrt.      GaL 

V.  17.  More  exactly  translated — "these  are  so  opposed  to  each  other 
as  to  be  an  obstacle  to  your  doing  what  ye  desire  to  do." 

By  the  expressions  which  are  rendered  "flesh,"  and  "  fleshly  lusts," 
and  "a  carnal  mind,  which  is  enmity  against  God,"  Paul  does  not  mean 
merely  sensual  excess,  but  all  evil  dispositions  of  the  natural  man.  For 
he  expressly  charges  tiie  Corinthians  with  being  "carnal"  on  account 
of  their  ^^  strifes  and  divisions.'''' 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  217 

neous  views  of  it.  And  there  is  no  kind  of  religious 
corruption  against  wliicli  men  are  usually  less  on  their 
guard.  They  are  well  aware,  indeed,  that  there  is  a 
danger  of  men's  falling  into  sin  in  violation  of  the  pre- 
cepts of  religion.  And  they  are  not  ignorant  tliat  a 
religion  which  is  i\\iogQl\\(iv  false  may  have  a  bad  moral 
effect  on  the  worshippers.  But  they  consider  that  a 
man  who  has  embraced  a  true  Faith,  and  who  is  of  a 
religious  disposition,  will  necessarily  be  made^  by  his 
religion,  a  good  moral  man ;  or  at  least  such  a  man 
as  will  be  accepted  as  righteous  by  the  God  he 
worships. 

Now,  this  is  true,  only  if  we  suppose  him  to  observe 
diligently  the  caution  of  Paul,  "  that  the}^  who  have 
believed  in  God  should  be  careful  to  maintain  good 
works,"  (Tit.  ii.  14,  and  iii.  8;)  "giving  all  diligence^'''' 
(2  Pet.  i.  5)  (as  Peter  exhorts  us),  to  add  to  his  faith, 
virtue,  &c.  But  if  he  takes  no  vigilant  pains  in  the 
improvement  of  his  moral  character,  the  result  will  be, 
that,  instead  of  his  religion  improving  his  character, 
his  moral  deficiencies,  on  the  contrary,  will  tend  to 
corrupt  his  religion.  The  rain  itself,  which  flills  j^ure 
from  the  heavens,  will  not  continue  pure  if  it  be 
received  in  an  unclean  vessel. 

And  this  kind  of  corruption  took  place — as  has  been 
above  said — even  in  the  days  of  Paul ;  who  speaks  of 
some,  "  who  having  cast  away  a  good  conscience^  con- 
cerning [the]  Faith,  have  made  shipwreck."  (1  Tim. 
i.  19.) 

It  will  be  sufficient  to  mention  some  of  the  principal 
errors  of  this  class,  that  have  crept  into  the  Church, 
10 


218 


without  entering  into  a  full  examination  of  any  of 
tliem. 

1st,  The  notion  that  a  Priest  has  power  to  forgiv^e 
sins  as  against  God  is  evidently  a  doctrine  very  accept- 
able to  such  persons  as  have  a  sense  of  religion  com- 
bined with  a  great  dislike  to  the  practice  of  christian 
virtue  ;  and  who,  accordingly,  are  glad  of  any  contri- 
vance for  being  religious  without  virtue. 

2dl7/,  The  same  may  be  said  of  the  doctrine,  that 
fasting  and  other  penances, — or  pilgrimages  to  certain 
holy  places, — or  prayers  and  sacrifices  offered  up  in 
behalf  of  the  deceased, — or  rich  gifts  bestowed  on  the 
Church,  can  atone  for  sin,  and  help  to  obtain  for  a 
man  final  salvation.* 

Sdli/,  Of  a  like  nature  is  the  doctrine,  that  if  a  man 
who  has  led  a  thoroughly  unchristian  life  shall  on  his 
deathbed  receive  the  Lord's  Supper,  or  the  rite  of 
''Extreme  Unction,"  pi^ofessing  sorrow  for  his  sins, 
and  faith  in  Christ,  we  are  authorised  to  pronounce, 
that  (supposing  his  professions  to  be,  at  the  moment, 
sincere)  his  salvation  his  certain. 

Now,  the  utmost  that  Scripture  can  warrant,  in  such 
a  case  is,  that  we  are  not  forbidden  to  hope.  But  the 
Scripture-promises  are  all  made  to  those  who  "  bring 
forth  fruits  meet  for  repentance."  And  any  one  who 
presumes  to  hold  out  confident  promises  where  Scrip- 

*  It  is  very  remarkable  that  in  all  religions  either  devised  by  men, 
or  corrupted  by  human  inventions,  there  is  a  tendency  to  set  aside  cer- 
tain particular  seasons,  or  particular  persons,  for  what  is  called  "  morti- 
fication,"— that  is,  self-torture  as  a  kind  of  set-off  against  the  toleration 
of  general  licentiousness  at  other  times,  or  in  other  persons. 


CORRUPTIONS  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  219 

ture  does  not,  is  evidently  guilty  of  preaching,  not  the 
true  Gospel,  but  one  of  man's  invention. 

4^/i/y,  The  heresy  of  the  ancient  Gnostic  Antino- 
mians  has  been  already  alluded  to,  as  being  held  in 
such  detestation  by  the  Apostles.  And  some  Antino- 
mian  doctrines  much  like  theirs  have  been  found  in 
every  Age  of  the  Church. 

For  example,  That  because  "  by  grace  we  are  saved 
through  faith,  and  not  of  ourselves,  but  by  the  gift  of 
God,"  (Eph.  ii.  8,)  and  "  without  the  works  of  the 
Law,"  therefore,  we  may  safely  "continue  in  sin  that 
grace  ma}'  abound,"  (Rom.  vi.  7 ;)  that  certain  persons 
may  know  and  feel  themselves  set  apart  as  "  God's 
People,"  and  that  these  are  certain  of  salvation,  though 
continuing  in  the  practice  of  knowm  sins,  because  God 
will  not  impute  sin  to  them^  do  what  they  will ;  and 
that  they  ought  not  to  be  at  all  uneasy  at  any  sins 
they  may  commit,  because  lie  purposely  suffers  "  his 
own  people  to  fall  into  very  grievous  sins,  in  order  to 
show  them  their  own  weakness,  and  to  humble  them !" 
though  in  reality  such  a  doctrine  is  calculated  to  puff 
up  a  man  with  spiritual  pride^  in  addition  to  all  his 
other  vices ;  since  nothing  is  more  flattering  to  a  proud 
heart  than  the  notion  oi  h^mg  privileged  io  do  without 
censure,  or  without  danger,  what  others  would  be  con- 
demned for. 

All  these  shocking  absurdities,  so  utterly  at  variance 
with  Scripture,  have  found  their  way  into  Christianity 
through  the  depravity  of  Man.  And  when  we  con- 
sider, that  besides  the  mischief  done  by  such  teachers 
to  their  own  followers,  they  bring  a  scandal  on  Chris- 


220  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

tianity  itself,  we  cannot  wonder  at  the  abhorrence 
shown  by  the  Apostles,  of  the  Antinomians  of  their 
own  day.  They  raised  a  prejudice  against  the  Eeli- 
gion,  as  being  far  worse  than  no  religion  at  all ;  be- 
cause the  doctrine  they  taught  tends  to  silence  the 
suggestions  and  the  reproaches  of  natural  conscience, 
and  represents  God  as  the  encourager  of  vice. 

bthly^  Besides  these  avowed  Antinomian  doctrines, 
there  are  others  which  are  liable  to  be  so  understood 
as  to  lead  practically  to  the  same  consequences;  though 
these  consequences  are  not  designed  or  foreseen  by 
those  who  incautiously  teach  such  doctrines.  For  ex- 
ample, there  are  some  good,  well-meaning  men  who 
represent  Paul  as  describing,  in  his  Epistle  to  the 
Romans,  (chap.  vii.  9-25,)  his  own  actual  condition. 
If  they  would  read  the  whole  chapter  through,  (es- 
pecially verse  9,)  and  then  go  on  to  the  eighth  chap- 
ter, they  will  see  that  this  is  impossible ;  and  that  the 
Apostle  is  evidently  describing  the  condition  of  a  man 
under  the  Law,  and  not  under  the  Gospel — sensible 
of  the  requirements  of  God's  Law,  but  not  under  the 
influence  of  the  Grace  of  the  Gospel. 

Now,  any  man  who  is  living  a  life  of  gross  vice, 
w^hile  he  approves  and  admires  virtue,  will  not  be 
likely  to  be  at  all  alarmed,  or  to  consider  moral  re- 
formation as  needful,  or  indeed  as  possible,  if  he  be- 
lieves himself  to  be  just  in  the  same  condition  tviih  the 
Apostle  Paul^  and  all  the  other  most  eminent  Christians 
that  ever  existed.  And  he  will  be  likely  to  regard  all 
that  is  said  in  Scripture  about  holiness  of  life,  as  a  kind 
oi theory  which  no  one  is  expected  to  bring  into  practice. 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  221 

Again,  the  doctrine  that  "nothing  a  man  can  do 
can  forward  his  own  salvation,"  is  indeed  true,  in  the 
sense  that  no  good  works  of  ours  can  establish  a  claim 
of  merit  in  God's  sight;  and  also  in  this  sense,  that 
we  cannot  lead  a  life  of  true  christian  virtue,  of  our- 
selves, and  without  the  aid  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  which 
"helpeth  our  infirmities."  But  if  the  doctrine  is 
earnestly  and  continually  taught  luitliout  these  expla- 
nations, the  greater  part  of  the  hearers  will  understand 
it  in  a  sense  exactly  opposed  to  Paul's  exhortation,  to 
"  work  out  our  own  salvation  with  fear  and  trembling;" 
and  they  will  also  conclude,  that  if  to  keep  God's  com- 
mandments cannot  further  a  man's  salvation,  to  hreak 
them  cannot  hinder  his  salvation.  At  least,  the  Chris- 
tian is  not  incited  to  endeavour  to  "grow  in  grace," 
and  to  "go  on  unto  perfection.''  And  thus  the  doc- 
trine becomes,  in  its  consequences,  completely  Anti- 
nomian. 

Again,  some  teach  that  Christ's  obedience  to  tlie 
divine  law  is  imputed  to  believers  in  Him  ;  so  that 
the  good  works  He  performed  are  reckoned  in  God's 
sight  as  performed  by  tlLem.  This  doctrine,  though 
not  warranted  by  Scripture,*  is  taught  by  some  who 
are  themselves  striving  to  lead  a  virtuous  life.     But 

*  Our  Lord  seems  to  be  expressly  guarding  against  this  notion  iu 
the  Parable  of  the  Marriage-feast.  The  Wedding  garment  (which  re- 
presents the  '"righteousness  of  Christ," — that  is,  the  moral  character 
which  his  Spirit  enables  us  to  attain  to)  was  provided — according  to 
the  Oriental  custom — by  the  king  But  the  guest  who  refused  to  put 
it  on  was  cast  out  without  being  allowed  to  plead — "  Yuu  are  clad  in 
the  wedding  garment ;  your  wearing  it  may  be  imputed  to  me,  and 
may  serve  instead  of  my  putting  it  on." 


222  KISE,   PROGRESS,    AND 

their  hearers  will  be  likely  to  conclude,  "  if  Christ's 
suffering  for  us  and  in  our  stead,  is  to  exempt  us  from 
suflfering  in  our  own  persons,  then,  by  parity  of  rea- 
soning, his  performing  in  oar  stead  good  works  which 
are  imputed  to  us,  as  if  ive  had  performed  them,  must 
exempt  us  from  all  need  of  keeping  God's  command- 
ments ourselves."  And  though  this  may  not  be  an 
inevitable  conclusion,  and  explanations  may  be  given 
which  will  avoid  it,  still,  we  may  be  sure  that  there 
will  be  a  danger  of  men's  drawing  such  an  inference. 
And  for  this  danger  those  teachers  will  be  responsi- 
ble who  set  forth  a  doctrine  not  clearly  taught  in 
Scripture. 

And  some  there  are  who  dwell  exclusively  on  the 
efficacy  of  faith ;  teaching  (which  is  quite  true)  that 
genuine  christian  faith  will  not  fail  to  bring  forth  the 
fruit  of  a  christian  life.  But  if  they  do  not  at  the  same 
time  teach,  as  our  Lord  and  his  Apostles  do,  the  ne- 
cessity of  "  running^'''' — '■''striving^'''' — "  xuatching^^ — be- 
ing ^^  careful^""  (1  Cor.  ix.  24;  Luke  xiii.  24 ;  Mark 
xiii.  33-37,)  in  their  christian  course,  their  hearers 
will  conclude  that  they  have  only  to  take  care  of  their 
faith,  and  leave  christian  virtue  to  follow  of  itself. 
And  being  once  convinced  that  they  have  embraced 
the  true  faith,  they  will  feel  themselves  in  the  condi- 
tion of  a  man  who  has  embarked  on  board  a  safe  sAz}j», 
bound  to  the  right  port,  who  has  nothing  to  do  but 
sit  still,  and  let  himself  be  carried  thither.  And  the 
consequence  of  their  thus  taking  no  pains  or  care  in 
the  moral  cultivation  of  their  mind,  will  be,  (as  has 
been  observed  above,)  that  their  religion,  instead  of 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  223 

improving  tlieir  moral  cLaracter,  will  be  itself  cor- 
rupted by  it;  and  having  "cast  away  a  good  con- 
science, they  will  make  shijjwreck  of  the  faith." 
(1  Tim.  i.  19.) 

The  above  are  a  part,  and  only  a  part,  of  the  reli- 
gious corruptions  whicli  have  been  introduced  or  fos- 
tered by  moral  corruption. 

V.  Lastly,  worldly  poHcy  has  greatly  helped  to 
promote  some  of  the  worst  religious  errors.  The  same 
kind  of  men  wdio  would,  most  of  them,  have  opposed 
Christianity,  from  covetous  or  ambitious  views,  when 
it  was  first  preached,  were  disposed,  afterwards,  to 
distort  the  religion,  so  as  to  suit  those  views. 

Thus,  any  w^orldly  men  who  found  their  way  into 
the  Ministry,  were  tempted  to  favour  any  kind  of  su- 
perstitious error  that  tended  to  bring  them  profit  and 
power.  The  People  were  often  disposed  to  fancy  that 
the  Priests  could  serve  God  in  their  stead,  and  that 
there  were  mysteries  in  Religion  which  the  Priests 
understood,  but  which  the  Laity  need  not  know  any- 
thing of,  and  ought  not  to  inquire  into.  And  hence 
they  were  ready  to  follow  blindly  the  guidance  of  the 
Priests  in  religious  matters;  just  as  a  man  trusts,  in 
legal  concerns,  to  his  Lawyer,  and  in  medical  con- 
cerns, to  his  Physician  ;  doing  wdiat  they  direct,  and 
not  considering  it  necessary  himself  to  study  Law  or 
Medicine. 

All  these,  and  many  other  sucli  erroneous  notions, 
have  been  encouraged  by  worldly-minded  Priests  for 
the  increase  of  their  own  power  and  wealth. 


224  RISE,    PROGRESS,   AND 

Again,  ambitious  and  worldly-minded  Rulers  are 
generally  glad  to  make  use  of  Religion  as  an  instru- 
ment for  securing  the  submission  of  the  People  to 
tyrannical  oppression,  and  for  aiding  their  ambitious 
views  when  they  seek  to  subdue  their  neighbours, 
under  the  pretext  of  propagating  the  true  Faith. 
Such  men  are  disposed,  like  the  Jews  of  old,  to  "take 
Jesus  by  force  to  make  Him  a  King  ;"  that  is  to  make 
his  a  "  kingdom  of  this  world." 

Such  men  perceive  a  political  advantage  in  having 
the  same  religion  professed  by  all  their  subjects  ;  and 
they  endeavour  to  secure  this  object  by  force.  They 
make  laws  for  the  punishment  of  heretics :  or  to 
exclude  from  civil  rights  every  one  who  is  not  a 
member  of  their  Church ;  or  they  seek  to  compel 
every  one  to  have  his  children  taught  their  Faith. 

All  these  are  so  many  different  forms  in  which  the 
spirit  of  Persecution  shows  itself,  in  varying  degrees 
of  violence. 

Now,  it  is  of  course  most  desirable  that  all  men 
should  agree  in  true  christian  faith  and  practice. 
But  then,  this  profession  of  the  Religion  should  be 
sincere  and  voluntary.  It  is  utterly  contrary  to  the 
spirit  of  Christ's  religion  to  attempt  to  maintain  or  to 
propagate  it  by  force.  But  it  belongs  to  the  "natural 
man"  to  feel  jealousy  and  dislike  to  those  who  differ 
from  us  in  opinion  on  important  points ;  and,  when 
we  fail  to  convince  them,  to  wish  to  f<e)rce  them  to 
submission ;  or  at  least  to  keep  for  ourselves  what  is 
called  a  "political  ascendancy"  over  them.  And 
those  who  have  a  zeal  for  what  they  consider  true 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  225 

religion,  but  who  are  strangers  to  the  genuine  spirit 
of  the  Gospel,  persuade  themselves  that  they  are 
seeking  God's  glory  and  the  good  of  mankind,  in 
carrying  out  their  own  intolerant  principles.  Since 
Governments,  they  say,  ought  to  seek  the  good,  - 
universally, — of  the  subjects,  and  true  religion  is  the 
greatest  good,  it  must  be  the  duty  of  the  Civil  Magis- 
trate to  insist  on  his  subjects  adhering  to  a  true  religion. 

But  they  overlook  two  circumstances :  1st,  that 
since  the  Magistrate  must,  by  this  rule,  be  himself  the 
Judge  ivliat  religion  is  true,  it  would  follow  that  the 
Jewish  Eulers  had  a  right  to  forbid  the  Apostles  to 
preach  the  Gospel ;  and  that  the  Apostles  were  bound 
to  obey  ;  and,  2dly,  that  though  the  sincere  acceptance 
of  true  religion  be  the  greatest  good,  an  outward 
profession,  in  obedience  to  the  laws,  of  what  a  man 
does  not  really  believe,  is  no  good  at  all,  but  a  great 
evil. 

Yet  all  this  is  overlooked  by  those  who  "have  a 
zeal  towards  God,  but  not  according  to  knowledge " 
of  the  true  Gospel. 

In  addition,  however,  to  mistaken  religious  zeal, 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  men's  minds  are  often 
biassed  towards  this  particular  corruption  of  Chris- 
tianity, by  worldly  policy.  The  love  of  power  and 
worldly  pre-eminence  helps  to  give  their  turn  to  their 
religious  zeal.  And  thus  they  so  far  mistake  the  real 
character  of  Christianity,  as  to  imagine  it  allowable, 
and  even  a  sacred  duty,  to  put  down  religious  errors 
by  force,  or  to  secure  a  monopoly  of  civil  rights  in 
behalf  of  the  members  of  their  owmi  Church. 
10* 


226 


The  above,  tlien,  are  the  chief  sources  from  which 
corruptions  of  Christianity  have  sprung.  And  they 
correspond  to  those  from  which,  as  we  have  seen, 
originated  the  chief  part  of  the  early  opposition  to 
the  religion,  viz. :  mistaken  adherence  to  the  Mosaic 
Law ;  superstition  ;  misapplied  philosophy  ;  moral 
depravity  ;  and  worldly  policy. 

As  for  the  means  by  which  various  religious  errors 
have  been  kept  up  and  spread,  one  of  the  principal 
is  that  employment  of  coercion  which  has  been  just 
noticed.  As  a  general  rule,  a  resort  to  restrictions, 
and  to  force  of  every  kind,  nwst  be,  on  the  whole, 
more  favourable  to  error  than  to  truth,  in  all  subjects  : 
because  it  tends  to  take  away  the  great  advantage 
which  truth  has  over  error.  Truth  being  in  itself 
stronger  than  falsehood,  may  be  expected  to  gain  a 
superiority  when  there  is  free  discussion.  But  Laws 
and  Penalties  may  be  on  the  wrong  side  as  well  as  on 
the  right.  Those,  therefore,  who  resort  to  these,  may, 
not  unfairly,  be  presumed  to  have  themselves,  some 
distrust  of  the  goodness  of  their  cause,  since  they 
remove  the  trial  from  a  Court  (that  of  Reason)  in 
which  truth  has  an  advantage  over  falsehood,  and 
appeal  to  brute-force,  in  which  truth  has  no  such 
advantage.  A  fair  and  free  trial  is  what,  generally 
speaking,  the  intelligent  advocates  of  truth,  in  all 
subjects,  will  be  likely  to  call  for,  and  the  advocates 
of  error  to  deprecate.  Moreover,  in  regard  ti  reli- 
gious questions,  the  resort  to  coercion  proves  a  parson 
to  have  totally  mistaken  the  character  of  Christianit}^ 
as  to  one  most  important  point ;  so  that  there  is  a 


CORRUPTIONS  OF   CHRISTIANITY.  227 


probability  that  lie  will  bave  mistaken  otlier  points 
also. 

That  erroneous  view,  again,  of  christian  Unity^ 
which  has  been  already  noticed,  has  tended  very 
much  to  keep  up  and  to  extend  other  errors.  For  if 
a  man  is  once  convinced  that  all  Christians  are  bound 
to  belong  to  some  one  Community  on  earth,  he  will 
dread  nothing  so  much  as  separation  from  that 
Church,  whatever  it  may  be,  which  he  considers  as 
having  the  best  claim  to  he  that  one  community. 

And  thus,  a  majority  will  be  enabled  completely  to 
dictate  to  the  understanding,  and  to  domineer  over 
the  conscience,  of  all  the  rest.  For,  \vhatever  strong 
reasons  a  man  may  see  for  condemning  any  corrup- 
tions which  that  Church  may  have  sanctioned,  he  will 
labour  to  stifle  his  convictions,  and  to  believe  any 
absurdity,  or  approve  of  any  abuse,  rather  than  ex- 
clude himself,  as  he  supposes,  from  the  true  Church. 
So  also,  a  mistake  as  to  the  true  limits  of  Church- 
authority  is  one  which  tends  to  foster  other  mistakes. 
If  a  Church  assumes  the  right  of  setting  aside  the 
precepts  of  Scripture,  or  of  giving  any  interpretations 
whatever  of  them  to  suit  its  own  views,  or  of  "making 
the  Word  of  God  of  none  effect  through  their  tradi- 
tion," a  man  will  be  led  to  submit  to  all  this  against 
his  better  judgment,  if  he  is  persuaded  that  he  is 
only  submitting  to  the  authority  which  Christ  has 
appointed  for  his  guidance  in  all  that  pertains  to 
religion. 

And  lastly,  the  prevalence  of  this  error  leads  to  the 
neglect  of  the  study  of  the  Scriptures,  and  even  to 


228  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

their  being  left  untranslated,  and  inaccessible  to  the 
People.  For  as  no  one  need  study  medical  books, 
himself,  if  he  is  placed  under  the  care  of  a  skilful 
physician,  so  there  seems  no  need  for  any  one  to  study 
Scripture,  if  he  has  others  to  do  it  for  him,  whose 
interpretations,  after  all,  he  is  bound  to  receive,  and 
who  are  ready  to  tell  him  what  he  is  to  believe  and 
do. 

And  thus  general  ignorance  will  soon  prevail ;  which 
is  the  greatest  encourager  and  supporter  of  every 
kind  of  error  and  abuse.  For  when  the  light  of  the 
Gospel  which  was  given  for  the  illumination  of  the 
World,  is  thus  "put  under  a  bushel,"  men  are  thence- 
forward left  to  grope  in  darkness,  without  any  means 
of  distinguishing  truth  from  falsehood,  or  genuine 
Eeligion  from  the  grossest  superstitions. 


KEFOEMATIONS  IN  EELIGIOK 

We  have  seen  that  corruptions  of  Christianity  have 
existed,  from  the  days  of  the  Apostles,  downwards ; 
and  that  these  inspired  teachers  warned  men  to  be 
on  their  guard  against  this  danger.  They  exhort  us 
to  "take  heed  to  ourselves,"  on  account  of  "deceitful 
teachers,"  and  to  "prove  all  things,  and  hold  fast  that 
which  is  right."  Christians,  then,  are  evidently 
bound  to  be  carefully  watchful  against  any  corruption 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  229 


of  the  "simplicity  of  the  Gospel."  And  whenever 
they  shall  tind  that  any  unscriptural  doctrines  or 
practices  have  crept  in,  it  is  their  duty  to  exert  them- 
selves for  the  correction  of  the  evil.  And,  accordingly, 
it  appears  that  almost  every  one  of  the  corruptions 
which  have  prevailed  in  christian  Churches,  was 
opposed,  more  or  less,  at  its  first  introduction.  Yet, 
on  the  whole,  this  opposition  was,  for  many  centuries, 
so  far  ineffectual,  that  the  religion  of  the  greater  part 
of  the  Christian  world  degenerated  more  and  more 
from  its  original  purity. 

It  is  not  our  design  to  give  an  account  of  the 
various  attempts  made  (with  or  without  success)  to 
resist  the  introduction  of  corruptions,  or  to  drive 
them  out.     It  will  be  sufficient  to  point  out : 

I.  What  are  the  principal  hindrances  that  have 
stood  in  the  way  of  a  successful  opposition  to  errors 
and  abuses,  and  of  needful  reformations.* 

II.  What  are  the  faults  that  reformers  are  chiefly 
liable  to,  and  against  which,  consequently,  men  ought 
to  be  especially  on  their  guard. 

[I.]  There  are  three  mistakes  frequently  committed 
by  Christians,  each  of  which  has  contributed  to  pre- 
vent successful  opposition  to  corruption,  and  correc- 
tion of  them. 

(1.)  Some  have  attached  too  much  importance  to 


*  In  modern  language  one  sometimes  hears  of  '•  reforming  abuses. 
But  this  is  an  impropriety.  It  is  an  inatUulion  that  is  rcformtd 
abuses  are  to  be  remedied. 


230  RISE,    PROGRESS,   AND 

onatters  not  essential^  and  have  contended  too  earnestly 
about  them. 

(2.)  Others — and  sometimes,  indeed,  even  the  very 
same  persons — have  acquiesced  in  very  serious  corrup- 
tions, through  a  mistaken  anxiety  for  what  they  con- 
sider Christian  Unity  and  concord. 

(3.)  A  third  cause,  tending  to  the  same  effects,  is  a 
mistaken  dread  of  innovations.  Those  who  are  on 
their  guard  only  against  sudden  corruptions,  and  over- 
look such  as  creep  in  silently  and  gradually,  will  be 
disposed  to  resist  as  innovations  what  are,  in  truth, 
restorations ;  and  to  maintain  what  are,  in  reality,  very 
great  and  mischievous  innovations. 

(1.)  When  men  are  once  engaged  in  a  contest  on  any 
question,  their  eagerness  is  apt  to  increase  as  the  debate 
goes  on ;  and  they  often  come  to  regard  some  matter 
that  is  really  of  very  small  consequence,  as  if  it  were 
of  the  greatest.  Thus,  their  attention  is  often  drawn 
off  from  things  far  more  important.  For  example, 
there  have  been  fierce  controversies  among  Christians 
about  the  proper  time  for  celebrating  the  festival  of 
Easter.  And  this  is  one  of  the  many  cases  in  which 
the  attempt  to  unite  all  Christians  under  the  govern- 
ment of  one  single  community  on  earthy  has  led  to  discord 
instead  of  concord.  For,  it  is  necessary  that  in  any 
one  Church,  the  times  for  celebrating  religious  festivals, 
should  be  fixed  by  authority  ;  however  unimportant 
it  may  be  what  shall  be  the  time  fixed.  But  two  or 
more  independent  Churches  may  differ  in  this,  and  in 
several  other  non-essential  points,  without  hostility 
and   strife.     Such   questions,    however,    immediately 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  231 


become  a  source  of  strife,  as  soon  as  it  is  tliouglit 
necessary  to  unite  these  Churches  into  one.  And  the 
same  may  be  said  of  that  most  bitter  dissension  which 
arose  between  the  Eastern  and  Western  Churches  as 
to  the  use  of  leavened  or  unleavened  bread  at  the 
Lord's  Supper.  And  at  the  very  time  when  these 
controversies  about  such  comparatively  insignificant 
points  were  raging  with  the  utmost  fury,  the  unscrip- 
tural  practice  of  applying  to  the  Virgin  and  other 
saints  as  mediators  (besides  many  other  superstitions), 
was  spreading  widely  among  Christians. 

So  also,  in  later  times,  and  even  in  our  own  day, 
there  have  been  vehement  debates  on  the  question, 
whether  a  clergyman  should  preach  in  a  black  dress 
or  a  white  one.  And  the  attention  of  many  persons 
has  thus  been  called  off  from  the  far  more  important 
question  as  to  the  soundness  of  the  doctrine  preached. 
While  occupied  about  the  colour  of  a  vestment,  they 
have  overlooked  the  serious  corruptions  of  the  faith 
introduced  by  such  as  were  "  teaching  for  doctrines 
the  commandments  of  men." 

And,  again,  the  schism  of  the  Donatists,  which  gave 
rise  to  one  of  the  most  furious  contentions  that  evei 
existed  among  Christians,  originated  merely  in  a  ques- 
tion as  to  the  regularity  of  the  appointment  of  a  certain 
bishop.*  These  persons  having  taken  up  that  notion 
respecting  "  apostolical  succession "  which  has  been 
noticed  in  a  former  part  of  this  Dissertation,  they 
would  not  allow  that  the  ministers  ordained  by  the 
bishop  whose  succession  they  disputed,  were  ordained 
*  Ctecilian,  elected  Bisliop  of  Carthage,  311. 


232 


at  all ;  or  that  any  whom  these  baptized  were  really 
Christians,  kc.  And  while  this  fierce  contest  lasted, 
which  was  nearly  two  centuries  (from  the  fourth  to 
the  sixth),  men's  attention  was  drawn  off  by  it  from 
essential  points ;  and  various  corruptions  were  allowed 
to  spread,  unchecked  and  unnoticed.  Moreover,  one 
effect  of  such  contests  is,  that  many  men  are  apt  to 
become,  at  length,  so  weary  of  strife,  as  to  be  ready  to 
purchase  peace  at  any  price,  and  to  acquiesce  in  various 
abuses  and  errors  in  important  points,  rather  than  run 
the  risk  of  exciting  any  controversy. 

Now  we  ought  certainly  to  prefer  peace  and  chris- 
tian concord  to  everything  €xce2Jt  the  essentials  of 
Gospel-truth  and  pure  worship.  But  these  must  not 
be  given  up  even  for  the  sake  of  peace. 

For,  religious  agreement  is  not  that  christian  concord 
which  it  is  so  important  to  aim  at,  unless  it  be  agree- 
ment in  the  genuine  Religion  of  the  Gospel.  There 
may  be  an  agreement  in  error  as  well  as  in  truth. 

But,  vehement  and  long-continued  disputes  about 
matters  of  minor  importance  which  are  not  worth  so 
much  contention  will  often  drive  men  into  the  opposite 
extreme,  and  make  them  ready  to  consent  to  anything 
for  the  sake  of  peace  and  unity. 

(2.)  And  thus  they  are  led  to  commit  the  second  of 
those  mistakes  above  adverted  to,  and  to  resist  all  cor- 
rection of  abuses  for  fear  of  unsettling  men's  minds,  dis- 
turbing the  peace  of  the  Church,  and  violating  its  Unity. 

And  this  is  especially  the  case  when  men  have 
adopted  that  view  of  Christian  Unity  which  represents 
it  as  consisting  in  having  one  community  on  earthy  to 


CORRUPTIONS  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  233 

which  all  Christians  belong,  or  ought  to  belong,  and  to 
whose  govei-nment  all  are  bound  to  submit. 

It  is  true,  the  same  kind  of  feeling  may  influence 
the  members  of  ayiy  Church,  even  one  which  does  not 
claim  to  be  ''^  the  universal  church."  For  men  are 
undoubtedly  bound  to  be  very  careful  not  to  "  cause 
divisions  "  hastily,  or  on  slight  grounds.  Whatever 
christian  Church  they  find  themselves  belonging  to, 
they  are  bound  to  give  no  occasion  of  any  schism — - 
any  unfriendly  separation  from  it,  unless  they  are 
fully  convinced  on  deliberate  reflection  that  its  doc- 
trines or  practices  are  at  variance,  in  essential  points, 
with  Scripture,  and  that  there  is  no  reasonable  hope 
of  reform.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  if  the  rulers  of  any 
Church,  force  a  part  of  its  members  to  separate  from 
it,  by  maintaining  what  is  really  thus  unscriptural  (and 
of  this  the  All- Wise  God  alone  can  be  the  infallible 
judge),  the  guilt  of  the  schism  lies  with  those  rulers. 

The  questions,  however,  vvhat?5  or  is  not  Scriptural? 
and  what  points  are  essential?  are  to  be  very  carefully 
and  candidly  considered,  under  a  sense  of  awful  re- 
sponsibility to  God ;  and  are  questions  on  which  dif- 
ferent men  often  come  to  different  conclusions. 

And  hence,  while  some  are  guilty  of  hastily  causing 
divisions  on  wrong  grounds,  or  on  insufficient  grounds 
(as  if  each  man  were  free  to  consult  his  own  fancy  or 
convenience  in  such  matters,)  others  sometimes  fall 
into  the  opposite  extreme.  For  there  are  persons  who 
will  bring  themselves  to  acquiesce  in  something  which 
they  perceive  to  be  fundamentally  wrong,  for  fear  of 
being  guilty  of  causing  a  schism. 


234 


NcKV  this  latter  fault,  men  are  much  more  liable  to, 
who  consider  "the  true  Church"  to  be,  necessarily, 
one  community  under  a  single  goveniment  on  earth. 
For  all  Christ's  promises  being  made  to  his  Church, 
they  feel  that  a  separation  from  that  community  which 
they  regard  as  the  Catholic  Church,  would  be  to  re- 
nounce the  Gospel  Covenant.  And  thence  they  are 
led  to  infer,  either  that  Christ  allows  this  Church  to 
depart  in  important  points  from  the  written  Word,  or 
else  that  what  j^lainly  appear  to  he  departures  from  it, 
are  somehow  reconcilable  with  it.  They  would,  per- 
haps, be  glad  if  the  governors  of  their  Church  could  be 
prevailed  on  to  remedy  such  and  such  an  abuse.  But  if 
these  resolve,  in  compliance  with  the  wish  of  the  ma- 
jority, to  retain  it,  such  persons  consider  that  they 
have  only  to  submit,  rather  than  forfeit  (as  they  ima- 
gine) all  their  Christian  hopes  at  once.  To  oppose  or 
question  the  decisions  of  the  Church  which  they  re- 
gard as  the  divinely-appointed  Authority  and  Guide 
for  all  Christians  in  whatever  pertains  to  religion,  they 
consider  as  a  rebellion  against  Christ.  And  thus  they 
in  time  force  themselves  to  believe  their  Church  infal- 
lible— to  assent  to  and  uphold  the  grossest  corruptions 
— and  to  resist  all  attempts  at  correction. 

This  mistake  as  to  the  nature  of  christian  unity  is 
one  which  could  hardly  arise  in  the  days  of  the  Apos- 
tles. For  they  manifestly  founded  many  distinct 
Churches,  agreeing  indeed  in  Faith,  but  quite  indepen- 
dent of  each  other,  and  having  no  common  Head  on 
Earth.  And  the  Bishops  which  they  appointed  for 
the  government  of  most  (if  not  all)  of  these  Churches, 


CORRUPTIONS   OF  CHRISTIANITY.  235 

diftered  as  nmcli  from  the  Bishops  of  later  times,  as  a 
SovereigJi  prince  does  from  a  colonial  governor. 
Each  was  the  Head  Presbyter,  to  whom  was  intrusted 
the  chief  power  in  an  entire  Church. 

It  was  indeed  allowable  and  desirable  that  delegates 
from  these  several  Churches  should  assemble,  from 
time  to  tinie,  to  hold  a  Council,  (or,  as  it  is  called  in 
political  affairs,  a  Congress,)  for  the  purpose  of  confer- 
ring together  on  religious  questions,  and  concerting 
measures  for  putting  down  false  doctrines  and  abuses. 
This  did  not  necessarily  destroy  the  independence  of 
the  Churches ;  any  more  than  Sovereign-States  sur- 
render their  independence  when  they  send  ambassa- 
dors to  a  Congress  to  deliberate  concerning  a  treaty. 
But  ambitious  men,  when  they  obtained  a  majority  in 
any  of  these  Councils,  naturally  encouraged  the  no- 
tion that  the  minority  were  bound  to  submit  to  their 
decisions,  whether  they  would  or  no.  This,  so  ftir, 
tended  to  combine  all  these  Churches  into  one.  And 
when  the  chief  part  of  the  Eoman  Empire  became 
christian,  the  Emperors  always  sought  to  favour  this 
combination,  in  order  that  they  might  the  more  easily 
and  the  more  completely  control  it. 

And  that  this  worldly  policy  of  theirs  had  a  prin- 
cipal share  in  the  uniting  of  the  several  distinct 
christian  communities  into  one,  is  plain  from  the 
circumstance  that  it  was  not  Jerasalem — the  earliest 
christian  Church,  and  from  which  all  others  were  off- 
sets— but  Rome,  the  'political  Capital  of  the  Empire, 
that  came  to  be  regarded  as  the  seat  of  government, 
and  centre  of  the  Universal  Church. 


236 


There  is  not,  indeed,  any  rule  laid  down  by  divine 
authority,  as  to  what  is  to  be  the  greatest  extent  of 
a  single  Church.  It  cannot,  therefore,  be  said  that 
there  is  in  Scripture  any  direct  prohibition  of  Chris- 
tians all  over  the  world  uniting  themselves  into  one 
single  community.  But  the  example  left  us  by  the 
Apostles,  in  founding  many  distinct  Churches,  inde- 
pendent of  that  of  Jerusalem,  and  of  each  other, 
shews  that  they  did  not  consider  a  very  extensive 
Church  as  either  a  necessary  or  a  desirable  thing.* 
And  the  inconvenience  is  so  manifest  and  so  great, 
of  placing  under  one  Church-government  men  of 
different  nations,  far  distant  from  each  other,  and 
differing  in  language  and  in  customs,  that  we  may  be 
sure  no  such  thing  would  ever  have  been  thought  of, 
except  either  for  reasons  of  worldly  policy,  or  else 
from  a  misconception  of  the  character  of  Christ's 
kingdom.  The  ruler  of  a  great  empire,  containing 
many  provinces,  may  naturally  wish  that  all  his 
subjects  should  be  members  of  the  same  Church ; 
and  the  supreme  rulers  of  any  Church  are  likely  to 
be  tempted  by  ambition  to  extend  that  church  as 
widely  as  possible.  Those,  again,  who  make  the 
mistake  above  alluded  to,  respecting  the  true  meaning 
of  christian-unity,  will  readily  enter  into  these  views. 
And  some  will  be  likely  to  fancy  that  the  governors 
of  a  single  Church  comprehending  all  Christians,  will 
be  likely  to  prevent  such  errors  as  might  spring  up 

*  Not  only  were  tliere  several  distinct  Churches  in  the  one  province 
of  Macedonia,  and  in  that  of  Achaia,  but  the  one  Epistle  to  the  Gala- 
tinns  is  addressed  to  "the  CJmrchcs^''  of  Galatia. 


CORRUPTIONS  OF   CHRISTIANITY.  237 

in  some  out  of  a  multitude  of  independent  Churclies, 
and  thus  preserve  the  purity  of  Gospel  trutli.  But 
this  is  to  suppose  that  the  governors  of  the  universal 
Church  are  to  be  infalUhle.  Else,  it  is  plain  that  thej 
may  fall  into  error  as  easily  as  the  governors  of  a 
smaller  Church,  and  may  employ  their  extensirc 
power  in  maintaining  and  spreading  such  error. 
And,  accordingly,  all  who  contend  for  a  Universal 
Church,  in  the  sense  of  a  single  community  under 
one  government  on  earth,  always  lay  claim, — more  or 
less  distinctly, — to  infallibility  as  belonging  to  that 
Church. 

But  as  no  such  infallibility  can  be  proved,  or  does 
exist,  the  result  has  been  that  all  attempts  to  give 
universal  dominion  to  a  single  Church  have  increased 
the  difficulty  of  checking  and  of  correcting  corrup- 
tions. 

For  example — one  great  abuse,  and  tliat  the  parent 
of  many  others,  the  keeping  of  the  Scriptures  and  of 
the  public  Service  in  a  dead  language,  was  doubtless 
much  favoured  by  the  great  extent  of  a  single 
Church.  The  abuse  was  not  one  that  originated  in 
very  early  times.  For  it  was  not  caused  by  men's 
having  from  the  first  a  superstitious  dread  of  any 
attempt  to  translate  the  Scriptures  at  all,  and  conse- 
quently leaving  them  in  the  original  Hebrew  and 
Greek.  On  the  contrary,  they  were  transhted  into 
Latin,  when  that  was  the  prevailing  language,  on 
purpose  that  they  might  be  accessible  to  the  people. 
And  afterwards,  when  Latin  gradually  ceased  to  be 
spoken   in  the  Provinces,   and  at  length,   in  Rome 


238  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

itself,  the  Latin  Bible  and  Prayer-Books  continued  in 
use  after  they  had  ceased  to  be  understood  by  the 
mass  of  the  people.  No  one  could  point  out  the 
precise  time  when  a  new  translation  first  became 
necessary ;  because  the  change  of  Latin  into  Italian, 
Spanish,  &c.,  was  gradual.  And  men  had  a  sort  of 
superstitious  veneration  for  the  language  which  they 
and  their  fathers  had  been  accustomed  to  hear  em- 
ployed in  divine  Service. 

And  this  is  evidently  an  error  which  it  served  the 
purpose  of  an  ambitious  Church  to  keep  up.*  All 
over  the  world,  as  f\ir  as  the  dominion  of  that  Church 
extended,  the  Priests  had  a  language  of  their  own, 
not  understood  by  the  common  people,  in  which  alone 
the  Sacred  Books  could  be  studied.  And  thus  the 
People  could  know  little  or  nothing  of  their  Keligion, 
except  just  what  these  Priests  chose  to  tell  them. 

Now  it  is  true,  indeed,  that  the  same  error  might 
find  its  way  into  each  of  several  independent  Churches, 
however  small.  It  is  conceivable,  for  example,  that 
independent  Churches  in  various  parts  of  the  world 
might  have  retained,  some,  an  ancient  Grothic  trans- 
lation of  the  Bible,  some,  an  Anglo-Saxon,  &c.,  long 
after  those  languages  had  ceased  to  be  spoken.  But 
then  it  is  far  less  likely  that  everi/  one  of  forty  or  fifty 
independent  Churches  should  persist  in  this  error, 
than  that  one  should  do  so.     And  if  soine  of  those 

*  The  enforcement  of  celibacy  on  the  clergy,  (for  which  there  is  no 
warrant  in  Scripture.)  was  also  manifestly  favourable  to  the  ambitious 
views  of  a  supreme  central  government,  as  it  tended  to  keep  the 
clergy  unconnected  with  the  people. 


CORRUPTIONS  OF   CHRISTIANITY.  239 

Churches,  or  even  any  one  of  them,  had  made  new 
translations  of  the  Bible  to  meet  the  wants  of  the 
People,  the  others  would  have  been  shamed  into 
following  their  example  in  a  thing  so  evidently 
reasonable. 

And  this  is  proved  by  what  has  actually  taken 
place.  It  is  well  known  that  at  the  time  of  Luther's 
Keformation,  and  long  before,  the  translating  of  the 
Scriptures  into  modern  languages  was  most  earnestly 
opposed  by  those  who  adhered  to  the  Church  of 
Kome.  The  Scriptures,  which  were  originally  ad- 
dressed to  Christians  of  all  classes,  including  slaves, 
were  represented  as  unfit  for  the  perusal  of  the 
common  people.  But  since  then,  the  Roman  Catholics 
have  in  some  measure  followed  the  example  of  those 
Churches  which  they  denounce  as  heretical.*  They 
have  among  them  now,  (though  not  in  perfectly  free 
circulation,)  translations  of  Scripture  into  English, 
French,  Italian,  and  other  languages.  And  some  of 
them  have  also  Prayer-Books,  with  the  Latin  and 
their  own  language  printed  in  parallel  columns,  so  as 
to  enable  them  to  understand  the  Service  that  is 
going  on.f     There  can  be  little  doubt,  therefore,  that 

*  This  great  and  important  change  completely  disproves  what  is 
maintained  by  the  advocates,  and  by  the  bitterest  enemies,  of  the 
Cliurch  of  Rome — the  unchangeable  character  of  that  Clmrch.  But 
there  is  nothing  so  grossly  and  notoriously  false  as  not  to  gain  cre- 
dence, if  maintained  by  both  of  two  opposite  parties. 

f  As  for  the  celebration  of  Divine  Service  in  Latin,  it  has  ever  been 
made  a  matter  of  boast  by  the  Roman  Catholics,  that  in  a  foreign 
Country,  a  priest  going  thither  ignorant  of  its  language,  can  at  once 
perform  Service,  as  at  home ;  and  that  a  traveller  equally  ignorant  of 


240  KISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

this  would  have  been  done  long  before,  if  there  had 
been  all  along  numerous  independent  Churches,  such 
as  the  Apostles  established. 

It  is  true,  indeed,  that  before  the  time  of  that 
Reformation,  and  indeed,  in  a  less  degree,  for  a  good 
while  after  it,  the  prevailing  ignorance  was  such,  that 
few  besides  the  Clergy  could  read  at  all.  But  then 
it  should  be  remembered,  first,  that  to  have  the 
Church-Service— including  the  reading  of  the  Scrip- 
tures— in  a  language  understood  by  the  People,  is  a 
most  important  benefit  even  to  those  who  cannot 
themselves  read ;  and  secondly,  that  this  gross  igno- 
rance would  not  have  existed  if  the  Clergy  had  all 
along  done  their  duty  in  presenting  to  the  People  the 
Scriptures  in  their  own  language,  and  encouraging 
them  to  learn  to  read,  for  the  very  purpose  of  study- 
ing those  Scriptures  as  they  ought. 

It  is  plain,  therefore,  that  the  abuse  we  have  been 
speaking  of  was  left  much  the  longer  unremedied  in 
consequence  of  the  dominion  of  one  Church  of  vast 
extent. 

And  the  same  may  be  said  of  many  other  abuses. 
A  reform  that  is  evidently  needed,  is  more  likely  to 
be  resisted  by  one  community,  than  by  every  one  of 
many  independent   communities.     Any  one  out  of 

the  country,  can  attend  the  Service  of  his  Church,  which  is  the  same 
everywhere;  while  a  member  of  any  other  communion  would  be  at  a 
loss.  This  is  as  if  a  blind  man  should  make  it  a  matter  of  boast  that 
he  is  not  incommoded  by  the  short  days  of  winter,  and  has  no  occa- 
sion for  candles.  Tlutt  <hiy  nnd  night  are  alike  to  him,  would  Indeed 
be  an  advantage,  if  he  could  see  in  both ;  but  not,  when  the  case  is 
Hint  he  can  see  in  neither. 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  241 

several  distinct  Churches,  when  it  corrects  something 
that  is  manifestly  wrong,  sets  an  example  which 
others  are  not  unlikely  to  follow.  And  this  advan- 
tage is  wanting,  when  all  or  nearly  all  Christians  arc 
put  under  one  single  government. 

The  causes  above  mentioned  have  proved,  in  very 
many  instances,  great  hindrances  to  needful  reforms. 
Nevertheless,  many  attempts  were  made,  in  the  earlier 
Ages  of  the  Church,  to  introduce  errors  and  abuses, 
which  were  vigorously  and  often  successfully  resisted. 
We  have  on  record  many  varieties  of  false  doctrine 
and  corrujDt  worship,  (most  of  them  now  nearly 
forgotten,)  which  were  generally  condemned  and 
expelled  as  heretical.* 

Unfortunately,  indeed,  it  often  happened  that  the 
mode  in  which  many  of  the  ancient  heresies  were 
opposed,  was  such  as  to  have  the  effect  of  giving  rise 
to  fresh  heresies.     But  it  was  with  good  reason  that 

*  It  should  be  observed  that  a  "Heretic"  properly  signifies  a 
person  who  maintains  some  false  doctrine  condemned  by  the  Church 
of  which  he  is  a  member.  No  Church,  therefore,  can  be,  in  strictness 
of  speech,  heretical,  though  it  may  be  erroneous.  Accordingl}^,  the 
Church  of  England,  for  example,  pronounces  the  Church  of  Rome  to 
have  "erred;"  but  does  not  apply  the  term  "heresy"  to  its  error?, 
becaiLse  it  acknowledges  the  Church  of  Rome  to  be  a  distinct,  inde- 
pendent Church.  Tlie  Romanists,  on  the  other  hand,  pronounce  the 
Church  of  England  "heretical,"  because  they  reckon  all  Christians  as 
members — even  though  disobedient  and  rebellious  members — of  their 
own  Church.  Those  of  them  at  least  wlio  do  not,  (for  there  is  a  good 
deal  of  uncertainty  on  this  point,)  cannot  maintain  that  their  own 
Church  is  Universal  [Catliolic]  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  word, 
namely,  as  acluaUy  coniprchcndiug  all  Christians.  They  should  rather 
call  it  "  the  Chiu-cli  which  seeks  to  bo  Universal." 

11 


242 


the  majority  of  the  early  Christians — and,  indeed,  of 
Christians  in  all  ages — always  opposed  (though  not 
always  wise  in  their  mode  of  proceeding)  every  innova- 
tion in  doctrine.  They  justly  considered,  that  any- 
thing new  (in  essential  points)  introduced  into  Chris- 
tianity must  be  wrong. 

But  then,  they  often  committed  the  fault  of  being 
on  their  guard  only  against  sudden  corruptions; — 
against  any  innovation  brought  in  openly  and  all  at 
once.  They  overlooked  (as  men  are  apt  to  do  in  all 
subjects)  the  principle  so  well  laid  down  by  Lord 
Bacon,  that  "Izme  is  the  greatest  innovator;"  that  it 
"  introduces  changes  so  silently  and  gently  as  to  escape 
notice;"  and  that  "since  things  alter  for  the  worse 
spontaneously,  hence,  if  they  be  not  altered  for  the  bet- 
ter designedly,  there  will  be  no  end  of  the  evil."  To 
resolve  that  no  changes  should  take  place,  is  to  talk 
idly.  One  might  as  well  forbid  the  winds  to  vary,  or 
the  tides  to  flow.  But  to  resolve  that  no  changes 
shall  take  place  except  such  as  are  undesigned  and 
accidental,  is  to  determine  that  though  a  clock  may 
gain  or  lose  indefinitely,  we  will  take  care  that  it  shall 
never  be  regulated. 

"What  is  called  "the  change  of  the  style^^''  is  a 
striking  instance  of  a  seeming  innovation^  which  was 
really  a  restoration^  being  a  return  to  the  right  course, 
by  the  sudden  correction  of  a  great  error  that  had 
resulted  from  the  accumulation  of  imperceptibly  small 
ones. 

In  religious  matters,  a  remarkable  instance  of  a 
gradual  corruption,  and  a  sudden  reform,  is  the  point 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  243 

already  noticed, — the  keeping  of  the  Scriptures  in  a 
language  unknown  to  the  People.  This  was  a  most 
enormous  innovation  ;  since  the  Sacred  Writers  mani- 
festly addressed  themselves  to  Christians  of  all  ranks. 
But  it  was  overlooked,  because  it  was  no  sudden 
innovation.  The  Latin  language  went  out  of  use 
gradually.  No  one  can  fix  the  precise  day  or  year  on 
which  a  fresh  translation  was  first  needed.  But  when 
rae«  did  perceive  the  need,  and  translated  the  Bible 
into  modern  languages,  this  was  a  great  and  palpable 
novelty.  And,  as  such,  it  was  vehemently  opposed ; 
though,  in  reality,  it  was,  in  spirit,  a  restoration  of  the 
original  state  of  things;  the  placing  of  the  Scriptures 
before  the  People  in  a  language  which  they  under- 
stood. 

So,  also,  there  can  be  no  doubt,  that  the  change  of 
christian  Ministers  into  Sacerdotal  Priests^  making 
offerings  on  an  altar,  and  also  the  custom  of  invoking 
saints,  and  most  of  the  other  corruptions  already 
noticed,  crept  in  gradually  and  insensibly. 

The  fond  veneration  for  the  memory  of  any  holy 
martyr  led  men  to  visit  his  tomb,  and  to  preserve 
carefully  his  garments,  or  other  relics,  and  also  images 
or  pictures  of  him.  They  naturally  prayed  to  God, 
with  these  images  before  them,  for  grace  to  follow  the 
good  example  of  such  a  holy  man.  And  thence  they 
were  gradually  led  to  beg  for  his  intercession,  and,  in 
fact,  to  worship  him. 

Then,  when  this  had  become  a  long-established 
corruption,  and  when  men  were  called  on  at  once  to 
renounce  it,  and  to  pray  to  none  but  the  all-present 


244  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

God,  many  were  startled  at  the  innovation^  and  re- 
solved to  keep  to  "the  old  religion,"  and  to  worship 
as  their  ancestors  had  done  for  centuries,  rejecting  as 
heretical  all  new  doctrines.  For,  to  them^  the  obser- 
vance of  the  first  and  second  commandments  ivas  a 
novelty ;  though,  in  reality,  it  was  only  a  return  to 
the  primitive  worship. 

And  so  it  was,  no  doubt,  with  the  greater  part  of 
the  corruptions  that  crept  into  Christianity.  Men 
were  not  sufficiently  on  their  guard  against  them, 
because  they  came  in  by  little  and  little.  And  then, 
when  correction  was  attempted,  many  resisted  it,  and 
would  not  allow  that  these  were  corruptions,  because 
no  one  could  point  out  the  precise  time  when  they 
arose. 

But  if  we  look  to  Scripture,  and  compare  with 
this  the  doctrine  and  practices  of  some  christian 
Churches,  it  will  be  plainly  seen  that  their  religion 
has  been  corrupted ;  though  we  may  not  be  able  to 
say  exactly  when^  or  by  what  means. 

And  this  is  the  only  safe  course  of  proceeding. 
For  when  a  book,  for  instance,  is  often  reprinted,  the 
only  way  to  insure  accuracy  is  to  collate  carefully 
each  edition  with  the  original  copy.  Sometimes  this 
is  neglected,  and  the  second  edition  is  printed  from 
the  first,  and  the  third  from  the  second ;  and  so  on, 
down  to  perhaps  twenty  or  thirty  editions.  And  the 
result  has  generally  been,  that  though  each  edition 
has  but  a  very  few  fresh  misprints,  and  differs  but 
very  little  from  the  preceding,  yet  the  twentieth  or 
thirtieth  edition  will  be  found,  when  compared  with 


CORRUPTIONS   OF  CHRISTIANITY.  245 

the  original,  to  be  excessively  incorrect,  through  tlie 
accumulation  of  a  multitude  of  small  errors. 

In  like  manner,  if  we  would  keep  our  Keligion 
pure,  both  from  new  and  from  old  corruptions,  we 
must  go  straight  to  the  very  fountain-head  itself,  and 
observe  what  is  or  is  not  agreeable  to  the  inspired 
Word. 

[II.]  From  the  causes,  then,  which  we  have  been 
speaking  of,  the  correction  of  various  abuses  was  so 
much  impeded  and  so  long  delayed,  that  thorough 
Reformation  (or  as  it  might  have  been  more  wisely 
called — a  Restoration)  became  necessary. 

By  the  "reformation"  of  a  Church  is  generally 
understood  a  fundamental  change  in  doctrine  and 
worship,  as  distinguished  from  slight  alterations. 
And  we  use  the  word  reformation  in  a  corresponding 
sense,  in  reference  to  any  other  Institution  also.  It  is 
like  the  pulling  down  and  rehuilding  of  a  great  part 
of  a  house,  as  distinguished  from  the  many  small 
repairs  which  are  made  every  year  by  a  prudent  man, 
and  the  occasional  small  improvements  he  may  see 
need  for.  Those  repairs  and  improvements  he  makes 
on  purpose  that  he  may  be  saved  from  the  far  greater 
cost  and  inconvenience  of  rebuilding,  which  is  an  evil 
in  itself,  though  a  necessary  evil  when  timely  repairs 
have  been  neglected. 

So  also,  every  reformation  is  an  evil,  on  account  of 
the  general  disturbance  and  agitating  alarm  it  tends 
to  produce.  But  this  is  a  less  evil  than  the  utter 
corruption  of  Christianity.     And  there  is  no  other 


246  RISE,    PROGRESS,   AND 

alternative  when  errors  and  abuses  have  been  long 
suffered  to  accumulate,  and  all  timely  remedies  have 
been  obstinately  rejected. 

But  many  persons  are  led  by  their  dread  of  the 
evils  and  dangers  of  a  reformation,  to  oppose  it  as 
long  as  possible,  and  to  endeavour  to  delay  it ;  not 
considering  that  the  longer  it  is  deferred,  the  more 
violent  and  dangerous  it  is  likely  to  be. 

The  principal  dangers  to  which  reformers  are  liable, 
may  be  classed  under  these  two  heads  : — 

(1.)  They  are  apt  to  feel  too  secure  against  falling 
into  the  faults  of  the  system  they  are  reforming. 
They  often  retain  several  of  their  former  wrong 
notions;  and  accordingly  commit  some  of  the  same 
errors,  in  substance,  though  in  some  new  shape — as 
those  they  undertook  to  remedy. 

(2.)  And,  secondly,  they  are  apt  not  to  be  suffi- 
ciently on  their  guard  against  reactions.  In  their 
abhorrence  of  what  is  wrong,  they  have  often  rejected 
what  is  right  along  with  it,  and  have  often  rushed 
from  one  extreme  to  the  other ;  not  considering  that 
there  may  be  two  errors  quite  opposite  to  each  other, 
and  that  men  in  their  eagerness  to  avoid  one  fault,  will 
often  be  blinded  to  the  danger  of  committing  a  con- 
trary fault,  that  is,  perhaps,  even  worse  than  the  first. 

(I.)  When  men  feel  a  very  strong  abhorrence  of 
any  fault  in  the  particular  form  in  which  thej^  have 
been  used  to  see  it,  they  are  apt  to  feel  too  much  self- 
confidence  in  reference  to  that  fliult ;  and  not  to  be  on 
their  guard  against  falling  into  (substantially)  the 
same  fault  in  some  other  shape. 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  247 

For  example — the  detestation  felt  by  the  early 
Christians  for  the  pagan  worship  of  the  images  of 
Jupiter  and  Juno,  and  other  gods  and  goddesses, 
made  them  feel  secure  against  any  danger  of  idolatry, 
in  a  christian  Church.  And  this  absence  of  self- 
distrust  contributed  to  their  falling  into  similar  super- 
stitions under  different  names,  by  paying  adoration  to 
images  of  Beings  whom  they  do  not  call  gods  and 
goddesses^  but  male  and  female  Saints. 

So  also,  in  the  present  case,  reformers  often  retained 
some  of  the  erroneous  principles  which  had  led  to  the 
abuses  they  were  correcting ;  and  thus  they  frequently 
themselves  committed  like  errors,  though  in  a  dif- 
ferent shape. 

For  example,  they  were  fully  convinced  that  the 
claims  of  the  Church  of  Eome  to  mfallihility  are  un- 
founded. But  many  still  clung  to  the  notion  that  in- 
fallibility must  be  lodged  somewhere  on  Earth.  They 
still  thought  a  divine  Revelation  necessarily  implied 
an  unerring  guide  for  the  right  interpretation  of  that 
lievelation. 

Some  of  them,  accordingl}^,  fancied  that  there  must 
be  somewhere,  though  not  at  Rome,  an  infallible  Uni- 
versal Church;  though  they  sought  in  vain  to  find 
any  person  or  Body  of  men  having  acknowledged 
power  of  any  kind,  over  all  Christians,  and  entitled  to 
represent  and  to  dictate  to  the  whole  christian  World. 

And  there  are,  even  now,  not  a  few  persons,  mem- 
bers of  reformed  Churches,  who  suffer  themselves  to 
be  mystified  by  the  vague  and  obscure  language  of 
artful  leaders,  and  to  be  deluded  into  a  belief  in  the 


248  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

infallibility  of  a  certain  Universal  Church,  consisting 
of  all  the  "orthodox,"  that  is,  all  those  who  agree  in 
opinion  with  those  leaders.  And  thus  they  fancy 
themselves  bound  to  receive  as  gospel  truth  whatever 
they  are  told  by  those  leaders,  whom  they  regard  as 
most  profound  theologians.  For  as  muddy  water  is 
often  supposed  to  be  deep^  from  one's  not  being  able 
to  see  to  the  bottom  of  it,  while  that  which  is  exceed- 
ingly clear  is  thought  shallower  than  it  is,  so,  weak 
men  are  apt  to  admire  as  very  profound,  in  Theology 
or  in  Philosophy,  what  they  cannot  clearly  under- 
stand, and  to  despise  as  shallow,  whatever  is  made  very 
plainly  intelligible. 

Others,  again,  of  those  who  cling  to  the  notion  of 
an  infallible  interpreter  of  Scripture,  have  concluded 
that  every  sincere  Christian,  or  that  they  themselves, 
or  that  certain  persons  whom  they  look  up  to  as  pi-e- 
eminently  holy,  do  possess  this  unerring  guide,  in  the 
inspiration  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Whatever  is  really 
dictated  by  that  Spirit,  they  justly  concluded  must  be 
infallibly  right.  And  they  found  in  Scripture  pro- 
mises of  the  aid  of  that  S}:iirit.  They  inferred,  there- 
fore, that  whatever  occurred  to  their  minds,  after  hav- 
ing prayed  for  this  spiritual  aid,  must  be  the  true 
interpretation  of  Scripture;  which,  consequently,  all 
men  are  bound  to  acknowledge  and  submit  to. 

It  is  remarkable  that  most  of  the  persons  who  put 
forth  such  claims,  do  not  pretend  to  exemption  fi^om 
Sin^  though  they  hold  themselves  to  be  exempt  from 
the  possibility  of  doctrinal  error.  To  suggest  a  doubt 
as  to  the  truth  of  any  doctrine  they  maintain,  they 


CORRUPTIONS  OF   CHRISTIANITY.  249 

regard  as  questioning  the  truth  of  God  Himself.  But 
for  any  man  to  account  himself  impeccable^  tliey  consi- 
der as  an  impious  presumption.  And  yet  the  office 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  to  lead  us,  not  only  "  into  all 
truthj^^  but  also  into  "all  righteousness ;''^  for  "the  fruit 
of  the  Spirit  is  in  all  goodness,  and  righteousness,  and 
trutli."  And  thougli  both  are  highly  important,  most 
persons  would  allow  that  this  latter  is  the  more  so. 
If  a  man  were  offered  the  choice. — supposing  he  could 
not  have  both, — of  being  completely  secured,  either 
from  all  mistakes  in  doctrinal  points,  or  from  all  sin^ 
he  would  hardly  hesitate  to  acknowledge  that  the 
latter  would  be  the  more  valuable  gift.  Yet  the  very 
same  persons  who  make  no  claim  to  unerring  rectitude 
of  conduct^  and  exemption  from  sin^  will  hold  them- 
selves to  have  attained  unerring  rectitude  o^  judgment, 
and  exemption  from  error;  and  will  regard  any  doubt 
on  that  point  as  a  distrust  of  God's  promises.  And 
yet  they  are  no  more  promised  infallibility  than  im- 
peccability. 

Some,  however,  there  are  who  seem  to  think  that 
both  in  doctrinal  questions  and  in  moral  questions 
also,  their  judgment  is  infallibly  right;  and  that 
though,  in  practice,  they  are  liable  to  go  wrong,  this 
can  only  be  when  they  offend  against  the  dictates  of 
their  own  conscience.  This  is  to  claim  a  great  supe- 
riority over  the  Apostle  Paul,  and  to  reverse  his  pro- 
cedure. For  lie  says,  "I  judge  not  mine  own  self; 
for  I  know  nothing  against  myself;"*  (that  is,  I  am 
not  conscious  of  any  wrong;)  "yet  am  I  not  hereby 

*  0<'i6:v  yai,  ifta    to  no  .( ■  .     1  Cor.  iv.  4. 
11^- 


250  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

justified:  but  He  that  judgeth  me  is  the  Lord."  He 
therefore  did  7iot  set  up  his  own  conscience  as  an  infal- 
lible standard  of  right  and  wrong. 

A  circumstance,  however,  which  is  still  more  re- 
markable, is  this;  that  many  of  those  who  thus  in 
reality  lay  claim  to  ^^  inspiratiorC^  and  ^^  infaUihiliiyJ'' 
yet  carefully  keep  clear  of  those  words.  They  do  not 
call  themselves  inspired  or  infallible.  And  yet  it  is 
plain  that  a  man  who  feels  quite  certain  that  his  inter- 
pretations of  Scripture  are  suggested  by  the  very 
Spirit  which  dictated  that  Scripture,  is,  so  far,  claiming 
just  as  real  an  inspiration  as  the  Sacred  Writers  them- 
selves possessed.  If  he  feels  quite  certain  that  he  is 
unerringly  following  an  infallible  guide^  he  must  in 
reality  regard  himself  as  infallible. 

In  this,  as  in  many  other  cases,  men  are  misled  by 
7iames.  They  mistake  for  two  different  doctrines  what 
are  in  reality  only  two  different  expressions  of  the 
very  same. 

When,  however,  a  large  portion  of  the  christian 
World  which  had  been  under  the  dominion  of  a 
single  Church,  had  thrown  off  that  yoke,  the  danger 
of  falling  into  the  mistake  of  looking  for  an  infallible 
guide  on  earth  was  much  diminished.  For  those  in- 
clined to  such  a  notion  would  naturally,  as  long  as 
they  were  under  one  Church,  look  to  that  Church  as 
the  seat  of  the  infallibility.  But  when  they  were 
separated  into  several  distinct  communities,  the  error 
tended — if  one  may  so  speak — to  cure  itself. 

For  then,  several  conflicting  claims  to  infallibility 
were  of  course  put  forth,  by  persons  teaching  different 


CORUUPTIOXS  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  251 

doctrines,  yet  wbo  eacli  professed  (and  doubtless  often 
with  truth)  to  have  earnestly  prayed  for  inspiration ; 
and  as  it  was  plain  that  all  these  claims  could  not  be 
well  founded,  this  naturally  put  men  on  inquiring 
whether  any  of  them  were  so.  And  then,  all  sober- 
minded  men  perceived  that  the  only  proof  of  inspira- 
tion, and  that  which  must  necessarily  accompany  it — 
the  display  of  miraculous  signs — was  wanting  in  all 
the  claimants;  and  consequently,  that  no  infallible 
guide  on  Earth  has  been  provided. 

But  the  error,  though  greatly  checked,  is  still  to  be 
found  among  weak-minded  enthusiasts,  who  cannot, 
or  will  not  think  accurately. 

It  is  kept  up  in  them  in  great  measure,  by  their  con- 
founding together  the  infallibility  of  the  guide  in  itself] 
and  our  infallibility  in  following  that  guide.  For  in- 
stance, if,  on  the  one  hand,  the  mariner  steers  by  a  cliart^ 
then,  even  though  he  conform  to  it  quite  exactly,  yet 
if  this  chart  itself  be  at  all  incorrect,  he  may  be  mis- 
led by  it.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  he  steers  by  a  star, 
he  is  sure  that  his  guide  cannot  be  wrong ;  but  yet  he 
may  be  misled  if  he  mistakes  one  star  for  another. 
If,  however,  he  is  convinced  that  this  is  totally  impos- 
sible, and  that  he  is  infallihly  folloiving  an  infallible 
guide,  it  is  plain  he  reckons  himself  infallible. 

And  even  so,  though  the  Scriptures  and  the  Spirit 
of  God  cannot  themselves  err,  no  one  has  a  right  to 
pronounce  confidently  that  he  is  exactly  conforming 
to  them,  unless  he  is  favoured  with  some  sensible 
miraculous  signs  from  Heaven  to  assure  him  of  this. 
Without  such  a  sign,  "  if  we  say  that  we  have  no  sin" 


252  RISE,   PROGRESS,   AND 

— or  that  we  have  no  error  — "  we  deceive  ourselves." 
For  even,  if  in  some  point,  our  judgment  or  our  con- 
duct he  in  point  of  fact  perfectly  right,  still,  as  we 
cannot  with  perfect  certainty  know  this,  during  our 
state  of  trial  on  Earth,  we  have  no  right  confidently 
to  claim  it. 

Another  wrong  principle  which  has  been  retained 
by  many  reformers,  is  that  of  persecution.  By  the 
'principle  of  persecutioo,  we  mean  the  notion  that  it  is 
allowable  and  right  to  use  secular  coercion  in  religious 
matters,  or  to  maintain  what  is  called  the  political 
"ascendancy"  of  those  who  profess  the  true  Faith; 
so  that  they  should  monopolize  civil  rights  and  privi- 
leges. 

The  reason  why  we  speak  not  of  persecution  itself, 
but  of  the  persecuting  principle^  is  that  where  this 
principle  is  the  most  thoroughly  carried  out,  there  will 
be  no  actual  persecution.  In  any  country  where  all 
who  dissented  from  the  Established  Faith  have  been 
either  killed,  or  banished,  or  compelled  to  conform, 
there  is  no  longer  any  one  to  be  persecuted.  No  tree 
is  destroyed  by  the  scorching  drought  of  the  African 
Deserts,  or  by  the  intense  frost  of  the  Polar  regions, 
because  no  tree  can  grow  there.  And  in  the  most 
intolerant  Countries  on  the  Continent,  no  heretics  are 
burnt,  because  there  perescution  has  finished  its  work. 

And  accordingly  all  persons  agree  in  professing 
(and  generally,  no  doubt,  with  sincerity)  to  be  averse 
to  persecution.  Nebuchadnezzar,  who  condemned 
Shadrach,  Meshech,  and  Abednego  to  the  flames,  and 
those  Eoman  Emperors  under  whom  so  many  christian 


CORRUPTIONS  OF   CHRISTIANITY.  253 

Martyrs  suffered,  wished  them  rather  to  save  their 
lives  by  worsliippiiig  the  heathen  gods.  And  it  is 
the  same  with  all,  down  to  this  day,  who  hold  the 
persecuting  principle. 

Now,  that  principle  was  not  renounced  by  most  of 
the  earliest  Reformers.  They  complained,  indeed,  of 
the  persecutions  they  themselves  were  exposed  to. 
But  this  was  not  from  any  doubt  that  heretics  ought 
to  be  punished,  but  because  they  denied  that  they 
were  heretics.  Persecution  they  considered  as  con- 
sisting in  penalties  inflicted  on  those  who  profess  the 
true  Faith,  wdiich,  of  course,  they  held  theirs  to  be. 
To  put  to  death  such  as  are  really  heretics,  was,  in 
their  view,  no  persecution. 

By  degrees  it  came  to  be  perceived,  that  this  prin- 
ciple leads  to  a  war  of  extermination  among  all 
persons  of  different  persuasions.  And  men  began  to 
adopt  notions  more  humane,  but  not  at  all  consistent 
either  with  the  Gospel,  or  in  themselves.  They 
considered  it  as  too  severe  to  burn  heretics,  or  even  to 
put  them  to  a  less  cruel  death.  But  they  thought  it 
right  to  punish  them  by  fine  and  imprisonment,  either 
for  refusing  to  profess  what  they  did  not  believe,  or 
for  persisting  in  teaching  doctrines  which  they  felt 
themselves  bound  to  propagate.     (See  Acts  v.  28.) 

And  others,  again,  went  further,  and  were  for 
inflicting  no  punishment  on  those  who  do  not  hold 
the  true  Faith,  but  only  excluding  them  from  the 
rights  of  citizens;  so  as  to  secure  to  the  "true  be- 
lievers "  a  monopoly  of  civil  power. 

But  all  these  different  classes  of  persons  agreed  in 


254  EISE,    PROGKESS,    AND 

the  erroneous  principle  wbicli  goes  to  make  Christ's,  a 
"  kingdom  of  this  world." 

Many  persons  imagine  that  there  is  a  necessary 
connection  between  these  views  and  a  belief  in  the 
infallibility  of  a  certain  Church,  and  of  the  impossi- 
bility of  salvation  out  of  it;  as  if  no  one  could  think 
it  right  to  persecute  for  religious  error  unless  he 
thought  himself  exempt  from  all  possibility  of  error; 
and  again,  as  if  every  one  who  does  think  this,  must 
be  a  persecutor. 

But  this  is  quite  a  mistake.  For,  on  the  one  hand, 
a  man  may  be  confident  that  his  is  the  only  saving 
Faith,  and  that  his  Church  is  infallible^which  was 
actually  the  case  with  the  Churches  under  the  imme- 
diate care  of  the  inspired  Apostles — and  yet  may  be 
convinced,  like  those  very  Apostles,  that  coercion  in 
religious  matters  is  utterly  unchristian. 

And,  on  the  other  hand,  a  civil  Ruler  may  so  far 
misconceive  the  true  character  of  the  Gospel  as  to 
think  it  right  to  compel  all  his  subjects  to  profess 
what  appears  to  him  to  be  the  best  religion;  yet 
without  thinking  his  Church  or  himself  infallible  in 
religious  matters,  any  more  than  he  is  infallible  in 
secular  matters.  Now  in  secular  matters  no  Kings 
or  Senates  pretend  to  infallibility.  They  make  such 
laws  as  they  deem  most  expedient,  and  alter  them 
from  time  to  time  as  they  see  cause.  But  as  long  as 
those  laws  are  unrepealed,  they  consider  themselves 
(and  very  rightly)  authorised  to  enforce  them  by 
penalties.  If,  then,  they  regard  Religion  as  coming 
under  the  j)rovii\ce  of  the  civil  Magistrate^  they  will  of 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  255 


course  apply  the  same  rule  to  that  also.  They  will 
feel  themselves  bound  to  take  care,  not  only  of  the 
])ersons  and  property,  but  also  of  the  souls  of  their 
subjects.  They  will  prescribe  what,  iu  their  judgment, 
shall  appear  to  be  the  best  regulations  for  traffic,  and 
for  keeping  the  peace,  &c.,  and  also  the  best  for 
Religion. 

And  perceiving  the  convenience  of  a  uniformity  of 
"Worship  for  all  their  subjects,  they  will  be  likely  to 
regard  all  who  do  not  conform  to  that  wdiich  they 
have  established,  as  enemies  of  the  State  ;  and  thence 
to  expel  or  to  degrade  them  as  politically  dangerous. 
And  thus,  without  making  any  claim  to  religious 
infallibility,  any  more  than  to  general  legislative 
infallibility,  they  will  change  Christ's  kingdom  of 
Heaven  into  an  earthly  kingdom. 

It  is,  indeed,  true  that  any  persons  whose  notions 
in  morals  or  in  politics  are  such  as  to  make  it  impos- 
sible that  they  can  be  peaceable  and  loyal  citizens, 
may  allowably  be  excluded,  not  only  from  civil  rights, 
but  from  the  right  of  residing  at  all  in  the  Country. 
And  if  there  be  absolutely  no  other  way  of  fixing  on 
such  persons,  but  by  their  professed  religion,  it  is 
necessary  (as  long  as  such  continues  to  be  the  case)  to 
submit  to  the  very  great  evil  of  making  their  religion 
a  test  to  exclude  them.* 

If,  for  example,  any  one  is  fully  convinced — in 
opposition  to  all  reason  and  to  all  experience — that 
no  Jews  can  possibly  be  good  subjects,  he  ought  to 
urge  (not  that  the  most  unprincipled  of  them  should 

*  See*  Pale y's  Moral  Philo.sojyJiy. 


256 


be  bribed  by  the  hope  of  civil  privileges  to  profess 
Christianity,  but)  that  none  of  the  Jewish  Race  should 
be  allowed  to  reside  in  the  Country. 

But  to  make  the  profession  of  a  certain  Faith  a 
necessary  qualification  for  civil  privileges,  on  the 
ground  that  it  is  the  true  Faith,  and  that  the  Magis- 
trate is  bound  to  uphold  the  true  Faith,  and  to  make 
the  Church  and  the  State  one  community^  &;c. ;  all  this 
is  evidently  making  Christ's  a  Kingdom  of  this 
World. 

Gradually,  juster  views  of  the  true  character  of 
that  Kingdom  prevailed  more  and  more  both  among 
Protestants  and  Roman  Catholics.  But  even  now, 
these  views  are  far  from  being  universally  acknow- 
ledged. 

To  the  instances  that  have  been  noticed,  others 
might  have  been  added,  of  the  same  class;  that  is, 
instances  of  reformers  retaining  or  reviving  some  of 
their  former  wrong  notions,  or  practices,  in  some 
different  shape.  But  what  has  been  now  said  is 
sufficient  to  shew  how  careful  men  ought  to  be  not  to 
flatter  themselves  that  when  once  they  have  reformed 
a  corrupt  system,  or  renounced  a  corrupt  Church, 
they  are  thenceforward  safe  from  like  corruptions. 
If  the  corruptions  are  such  as  have  their  origin  in 
the  nature  of  Man,  and  (as  is  generally  the  case)  are 
rather  the  cause  of  the  faulty  system,  than  the  effect  of 
it,  it  is  against  the  infirmities  of  human  nature  that 
we  should  the  most  watchfully  guard. 

(II.)  The  other  class  of  errors  formerly  mentioned 
as  likely  to  be  committed  by  reformers,  are   those 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  257 

wliicli  arise  from  \vbat  wc  called  the  tendency  to 
reaction;  to  "mistake  reverse  of  wrong  for  right," 
and  thus  to  rush  from  one  fault  into  another  fault  of 
the  contrary  extreme. 

For  example,  many  christian  doctrines  having  been 
corrupted  by  "philosophy  and  vain  deceit,"  and 
mixed  up  with  presumptuous  and  absurd  speculations, 
the  result  has  been,  that  some  have  been  led  to 
reject  the  doctrines  themselves  as  taught  in  Scripture. 

Thus,  the  doctrines  of  our  Lord's  divine  Nature, 
and  of  his  Atonement,  have  been  by  some  reckoned 
among  the  early  corruptions  of  Christianity.  This 
was  doubtless  caused,  in  a  great  measure,  by  men's 
being  disgusted  with  the  rash  metaphysical  explana- 
tions of  those  doctrines  which  have  been  given  by 
some  who  were  accounted  profound  theologians;  and 
which  others,  equally  rash,  have  confounded  with  the 
doctrines  themselves.  And  some  have  even  gone  so 
far  as  to  represent  the  Apostles  as  having  mistaken 
their  Master's  meaning  as  to  these  points,  or  mixed 
up  their  own  fancies  with  his  revelations ;  so  as  to 
have  preached  a  different  Gospel  from  what  He 
designed,  and  to  have  led  their  followers  into  idolatry. 
For,  the  arrogant  pretensions  to  a  perpetual  inspira- 
tion in  the  CJairch^  and  its  consequent  infallibility, 
having  been  found  utterly  groundless,  a  reaction 
ensued,  which  led  some  to  deny  the  inspiration  of 
Paul  himself,  which  he  established  by  the  miraculous 
"signs  of  an  Apostle."* 

*  The  Religion  of  Mahomet  may  be  reckoned  as  one  of  the 
corruptions  of  Christian  it}',  and  as  owing,  in  some  degree,  its  origin 


258  RISE,    PEOGRESS,    AND 

Some,  again,  have  fallen  into  an  extravagance 
wliicli  prevails  a  good  deal  at  the  present  day  ;  that 
of  interpreting  any  part  of  Scripture  they  please, 
allegorically^  as  being  what  they  call  a  "Myth,"  though 
stated  by  the  Sacred  Writers  as  a  simple  fact. 
According  to  these  persons,  Scripture  is  true  indeed, 
but  true  only  in  the  sense  which  they  chuse  to  put  on 
it,  and  utterly  untrue  in  the  sense  in  which  it  was 
understood  for  many  centuries,  and  in  which  the 
Writers  knew  it  was  understood.  To  call  this  a  Reve- 
lation is  a  manifest  contradiction.  But  what  such 
persons  really  mean,  or  really  believe,  no  one  can 
decide.  For,  hj  their  own  shewing,  they  have  so  low 
a  moral  principle  as  to  think  it  allowable  for  a  man 
to  teach  what  he  is  conscious  is  false  in  the  sense  in 

or  at  least  some  part  of  its  wide  diffusion,  to  a  reaction  against  oppo- 
site corruptions.  For  the  Mahometans,  though  they  account  Mahomet 
a  greater  prophet  than  Jesus  Christ,  yet  confess  Jesus  to  be  the  Christy 
— to  have  been  really  sent  from  God, — to  have  been  superior  to  all 
who  came  before  Him, — and  to  have  established  liis  claim  by  miracles. 
And  the  chief  part  of  the  fables  which  they  have  mixed  up  with  tho 
Gospel-history,  they  borrowed  from  some  of  the  earliest  heretics. 
This  religion,  in  short,  is  evidently  a  corrupted  offshoot  of  Chris- 
tianity. 

At  the  time  when  Mahomet  arose,  a  great  part  of  the  Christian 
world  had  fallen  into  saint- w^orship,  and  the  adoration  of  pictures  and 
images ;  and  had  also  corrupted  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  into  some- 
thing very  nearly  approaching  to  Tritheism.  Against  these  errors  he 
vehemently  protested,  dwelling  strongly  on  the  Divine  Unity,  and  on 
the  duty  of  renouncing  every  kind  of  idolatry.  But  the  principle  of 
persecution — already  admitted  by  most  Cliristians, — he  retained  and 
vigorously  carried  out.  And  along  with  the  errors  he  rejected,  he 
discarded  also  great  part  of  the  fundamentals  of  Christianity  besides 
introducing  much  folse  doctrine  of  his  own. 


CORRUPTIONS  OF   CHRISTIANITY.  259 

wbicli  he  knows  it  will  be  imderstood ;  this  being  the 
conduct  they  attribute  to  Writers  whom  they  regard  as 
God's  messengers  commissioned  to  instruct  mankind."^^ 

Others,  again,  justly  considering  Holy  Scripture  as 
the  only  sure  foundation  of  christian  doctrine,  and 
perceiving  that  to  set  up  the  authority  of  Church- 
tradition  as  an  infidlible  interpreter  of  Scripture, 
might  make  Scripture  say  anything  whatever,  so  as 
to  render  "the  Word  of  God  of  none  effect," — and 
perceiving  also  that  to  shut  out  the  People  from  the 
reading  of  Scripture  is  a  monstrous  abuse, — were  led 
into  an  opposite  extreme.  They  were  for  discarding 
all  catechisms,  and  other  human  statements  of  chris- 
tian doctrine,  and  depriving  every  Church  of  the 
office  of  teaching.  They  were  for  simply  putting  the 
Bible  into  each  person's  hands,  and  leaving  him  to 
make  out,  by  his  own  unassisted  study  of  it,  whatever 
religion  he  could  for  himself.  They  forgot  that,  of 
all  the  books  of  the  New  Testament,  there  is  not  one 
that  was  written  for  the  purpose  of  making  known 
the  christian  Religion  to  those  who  were  quite  strangers 
to  it.  On  the  contrary,  all  those  books  were  evidently 
written  for  the  use  of  such  as  were  already  Christians, 
who  had  been  carefully  instructed  [catechised]  (Soe 
Luke  i.  4),  and  examined  in  the  christian  Faith. 

It  is  the  office  of  a  Church  to  teach^  and  of  Scrip- 
ture to  prove.  We  should  study  the  Sacred  Books 
carefulh',  as  alone  possessing  divine  authority  in  mat- 
ters of  faith.     But  we  should  study  them  with   the 

*  See   Dr.  West's  "  Discourse  on  Reserve,"   and  Essay  i.  on  the 
"  Kingdom  of  Christ." 


260  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

best  helps  we  can  obtain ;  and  with  care  not  to  mis- 
take the  character  of  them,  and  the  purposes  for 
which  thej  were  written.  In  short,  we  should  imi- 
tate the  Bereans  of  old,  who  did  not  refuse  to  hear 
the  teachers  that  came  among  them,  but  "  searched 
the  Scriptures  daily,  to  see  whether  those  things  were 
so"  which  were  taught  them  (Acts  xvii.  11). 

Human  teaching  bears  the  same  relation  to  Scrip- 
ture, that  what  is  called  "  paper  currency"  does  to  the 
precious  metals.  Bank-notes  and  Bills  of  Exchange, 
though  of  no  intrinsw  value,  are  a  very  convenient 
circulating  medium  so  long  as  they  really  represent 
gold  or  silver,  and  are  payable  in  coin  on  the  demand 
of  the  holder.  But  if  these  notes  are  made  a  legal 
tender,  and  are  required  to  be  received  in  payment, 
by  the  decree  of  the  very  government  which  issues 
them,  and  on  its  bare  word,  without  being  convertible 
into  gold  and  silver,  the  result  is,  that  those  metals 
soon  disappear,  and  men  are  cheated  of  their  goods 
in  exchange  for  worthless  bits  of  paper. 

Even  so,  as  long  as  human  teaching  is  really  a  re- 
presentative  of  Scripture,  and  Scripture  proof  is  always 
ready  to  be  given,  of  whatever  is  taught,  then,  and 
then  only,  we  are  secured  against  the  danger  of  hav- 
ing God's  word  superseded  by  "  doctrines  which  are 
commandments  of  men." 

Then,  again,  some  men's  horror  of  the  doctrine,  that 
good  works  can  claim  merit  in  God's  sight,  and  that 
pilgrimages  to  certain  supposed  hoJ}^  spots,  and  va- 
rious kinds  of  self-torture,  can  atone  for  sins,  led  them 
into  the  Antinomian  error  of  the  ancient  Gnostics. 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  261 


They  taught  the  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith,  in 
such  a  sense  as  to  contradict  the  Apostle  James  (ii. 
17-26),  or  at  least  to  leave  their  hearers  utterly  care- 
less about  christian  holiness  of  life. 

Other  instances  might  be  given  of  corruptions  of 
christian  doctrine,  arising  in  great  measure  out  of  a 
reaction  against  opposite  corruptions. 

With  respect  to  religious  ordinances  again,  the  bur- 
densome and  often  superstitious  rites  with  which 
christian  worship  has  been  in  some  Churches  overlaid, 
have  created  such  a  reaction,  that  some  have  even 
gone  so  far  as  to  reject  the  Sacraments  distinctly  ap- 
pointed by  Christ  himself,  and  administered  according 
to  his  direction  by  his  Apostles,  (1  Cor.  xi.  23-26.) 
And  the  perversion  of  the  office  of  christian  Ministers 
by  those  who  have  made  them  Sacerdotal  Priests,  has 
driven  some  into  a  rejection  of  a  regular  christian 
Ministry  altogether. 

Others  again,  not  going  quite  so  far,  have  yet 
thought  themselves  bound  to  reject  all  institutions 
and  ordinances  that  are  not  expressly  enjoined  in 
Scripture.  There  had  been  a  manifest  abuse  of  church - 
authority  in  introducing  ordinances  and  customs  that 
are  contrary  to  Scripture  ;  and  again,  in  teaching  doc- 
trines that  are  not  contained  in  Scripture.  And  this 
produced  a  reaction  which  led  men  to  confound  these 
two  things  together,  and  to  deny  the  power  which 
manifestly  belongs  to  a  church,  of  making  bye-laws 
respecting  matters  intrinsically  indifferent,  and  in 
which  Scripture  gives  no  commands. 


262 


And  some  reformers  seem  to  have  been  led  by  their 
deep  detestation  of  the  corruptions  they  have  pro- 
tested against,  to  endeavour  to  be  as  unlike  as  possible  to 
the  Church  from  which  they  have  revolted,  even  in  mat- 
ters indifferent :  altering  for  the  sake  of  change.  They 
ought  to  have  considered  that  XhQ presumption  is  always 
against  a  change ;  that  is,  since  change  is  not  a  good  in 
itself,  none  should  be  introduced  unless  it  can  be  shown 
to  be  needful,  and  to  be  a  change  for  the  better.* 

It  is  true,  we  may  very  rightly  alter  or  reject  things, 
good  or  harmless  in  themselves,  when  they  are  found 
to  be  very  liable  to  abuse^  or  when  they  cause  unne- 
cessary offence.  Thus  "  Hezekiah  brake  in  pieces  the 
brazen  serpent  which  Moses  had  made,"  when  he 
found  that  the  Israelites  burned  incense  before  it. 
And  the  Apostle  Paul,  though  he  decides  that  there 
was  no  harm  in  eating  meats  offered  to  idols,  yet  for- 
bids the  Corinthians  to  do  so,  when  their  eating  it 
would  be  misapprehended  and  cause  offence.  So, 
also,  a  statue  or  picture  of  Christ,  or  of  any  eminent 
Christian,  is  not  an  evil  in  itself.  But  when  it  is 
found  that  the  vulgar  pay  adoration  to  images  or  pic- 
tures, or  that  others  apprehend  them  to  be  doing  so, 
then  such  images  should  be  removed  from  places  of 
worship,  as  being  a  snare  to  weak  brethren. 

This,  however,  is  no  exception  to  the  above  rule, 
but  an  application  of  it.  For  in  such  a  case,  there  is 
a  good  reason  for  the  change. 

Lastly,  the  usurpation  and  extravagant  claims  of  a 

*  See  Preface  to  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  263 


Church  have  driven  some  persons  to  set  at  nought 
Church-government  altogether,  and  to  overlook  en- 
tirely the  sanction  which  our  Lord  Himself  gave  to 
christian  communities,  and  the  powers  which  he  con- 
ferred on  them.  The  erroneous  and  over-strained 
notions  of  Church-unity  which  have  been  above  no- 
ticed as  having  contributed  to  maintain  corruptions 
and  to  hinder  reforms,  afterwards  led  to  such  a  vio- 
lent reaction,  that  many  thought  nothing  of  the  guilt 
of  Schism,  and  seemed  even  to  forget  that  there  was 
such  a  thing.  And  this,  in  turn,  has  sometimes  pro- 
duced a  contrary  reaction.  The  disgust  and  alarm 
caused  by  those  who  revolt  against  all  rules,  and  dis- 
card the  very  notion  of  a  christian  community,  have 
driven  others  to  submit  to  the  grossest  abuses  of 
Church-authority,  for  the  sake  of  good  order  and 
peace.  It  is  just  so,  that,  in  political  affairs,  also, 
there  is  a  constant  reaction  between  tj^anny  and 
anarchy  ;  each  in  turn  tending  to  produce  the  other. 

Many  more  instances  might  be  adduced  ;  but  what 
have  been  noticed  are  sufficient  as  specimens,  to  shew 
how  watchful  reformers  ought  to  be  against  the  ten- 
dency to  reaction — against  suffering  incautious  zeal  to 
hurry  them  from  one  extreme  into  another. 

We  shall  now  proceed  to  treat  somewhat  more  fully 
of  the  questions  relating  to  Church-unity. 


264  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 


CHURCH    ALLEGIANCE    AND    SEPA- 
RATIONS. 

It  has  been  pointed  out  that  the  correction  of 
abuses  and  corruptions  in  Religion  has  been,  in  most" 
instances,  resisted  and  long  delayed ;  partly  from  an 
undue  attention  having  been  directed  to  points  of 
minor  importance^  which  has  drawn  off  men's  thoughts 
from  very  serious  errors;  partly  from  mistaken  no- 
tions respecting  Church-unity ;  and  partly  from  a 
mistaken  dread  of  innovation^  causing  men  to  over- 
look what  are  in  reality  the  greatest  innovations. 

From  these  and  other  causes,  various  corruptions 
have  often  been  allowed  to  go  on  unchecked  by  timely 
remedies,  and  to  increase,  till  a  thorough  reformation 
was  necessary ;  and  indeed  much  longer.  And  the 
longer  a  reformation  is  deferred,  the  more  difficult, 
and  the  more  dangerous  and  violent,  it  is  likely  to 
be. 

In  particular,  a  reformation  very  long  delayed  is 
the  more  liable  to  those  two  classes  of  evils  mentioned 
above;  [I.]  the  danger  of  retaining  some  of  the 
former  wrong  principles,  so  as  to  revive,  under  a  new 
form,  the  faults  which  had  been  corrected ;  and  [IL] 
the  danger  of  reactions^  leading  men  from  one  extreme 
into  another. 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  265 

[I.]  For,  the  longer  any  corruption  has  been  al- 
lowed to  prevail,  the  more  it  will  have  wrought  itself 
into  men's  character,  so  as  to  have  aflfected  their  mind 
throughout,  and  become,  as  it  were,  a  part  of  them- 
selves. And  then,  the  same  fault,  substantially,  will 
be  the  more  likely  to  reappear  in  a  different  shape. 

Thus,  for  instance,  when  the  principle  of  persecu- 
tion, above  adverted  to,  had  been  so  very  long  acted 
on,  that  men  all  over  the  world  had  been  familiarised 
to  the  putting  down  of  heresies  by  sword  and  fire, 
and  the  enforcement  of  the  profession  of  the  true 
Faith  by  the  Civil  Magistrate,  as  an  indispensable 
religious  duty,  the  consequence  was,  that  reformers, 
even  w^hen  exposed  to  persecution  themselves,  still 
clung  to  the  faulty  principle.  They  considered  per- 
secution, (as  was  before  observed,)  as  consisting  in 
punishing  those  who  maintained  the  truth.  And  it 
was  long  before  they  came  to  perceive, — what  Scrip- 
ture so  very  plainly  points  out, — the  inconsistency 
with  Christ's  Keligion  of  all  use  of  coercion  in  his 
cause.  And  some  remain  blind  to  this,  even  down  to 
the  present  da3^ 

And,  again,  when  ignorance  of  the  true  character 
of  Christianity,  resulting  from  the  non-translation  of 
the  Scriptures,  had  been  very  widely  spread  and  long 
continued,  and  then,  persons  who  had  very  little 
mental  cultivation,  and  who  had  been  trained  from 
childhood  in  most  erroneous  religious  notions,  sud- 
denly came  to  the  perusal  of  the  Scriptures,  (often 
without  any  assistance,)  it  naturally  happened  that 
many  of  them  fell  into  gross  mistakes  as  to  the 
12 


266  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

meaning  of  what  tliej  read.  In  particular,  they  often 
mixed  up  together  confusedly  the  Law  and  the  Gos- 
pel ;  and  often  read  detached  passages^  taken  at  random, 
without  any  reference  to  times,  places,  persons,  and 
occasions.  And  thus  among  many,  ignorance  of  the 
true  character  of  Christianity  continued,  in  a  great 
degree,  to  prevail,  though  in  a  new  shape. 

This  has  been  often  brought  forward  by  the  oppo- 
nents of  the  Reformation,  as  a  proof  of  the  danger  of 
putting  the  Scriptures  into  the  hands  of  the  People. 
But  if  christian  Ministers  had  all  along  done  their 
duty  in  training  the  People  to  an  intelligent  and 
profitable  study  of  Scripture,  this  evil  would  have 
been,  for  the  most  part,  prevented.  Instead  of  this, 
they  had  kept  them  ignorant  and  uneducated,  gene- 
ration after  generation.  And  mankind  had  been  so 
long  blindfolded  that  they  could  not  see  clearly  when 
the  bandage  was  removed. 

[II.]  And  again,  the  longer  and  the  more  obsti- 
nately any  needful  reform  has  been  resisted,  the  more 
fierce  in  general  will  be  the  spirit  in  which  it  is  at 
length  efiected.  Abuses  which  have  been  maintained 
long  after  they  have  been  exposed  and  complained  of, 
men  are  apt  to  correct  with  an  angry  and  indiscrimi- 
nate violence,  which  often  leads  them  to  rush  into 
extremes,  and  to  reject  what  is  true  and  right,  along 
with  what  is  erroneous  and  faulty.  Thus,  one  may 
sometimes  see  long-continued  tyranny  succeeded  by 
revolutionary  anarchy ;  and  a  long  reign  of  ignorant 
superstition,  even  by  avowed  Atheism. 

Many,  also,  of  the  evils  which  are  apt  to  accom- 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  267 

pany  any  great  religions  reformation,  have  been  in- 
creased by  the  too  great  extent  of  a  single  Church. 

The  Apostles  appear  to  have  founded  a  distinct 
Church  in  each  considerable  city ;  as  at  Philippi, 
Thessalonica,  and  several  other  cities  in  Macedonia, 
and  elsewhere.  Now,  if  some  corruption  had  found 
its  way  into  these  Churches,  and  one  of  them — 
suppose  Philippi — had  reformed  itself,  although  it  is 
likely  that  some  degree  of  jealousy  and  disapprobation 
would  have  at  first  arisen  in  the  other  Churches  which 
were  as  yet  unreformed,  and  though  the  Philippians 
might  have  been  censured  as  having  taken  a  rash  step, 
at  least  they  could  not  have  been  denounced  as 
schismatical  revolters.  No  one  could  have  complained 
that  they  had  separated  from  a  Church  of  which  they 
were  subjects.  They  could  not  have  been  viewed  in 
the  light  of  rebellious  children^  throwing  off  the  yoke 
of  an  authority  they  had  been  subject  to. 

But  when  a  multitude  of  Churches  were  united  into 
one  vast  Community,  comprehending  many  great 
Nations  spread  over  extensive  Regions,  then  any 
reformation  not  embracing  the  whole  of  this  great 
Church,  necessarily  implied  revolt  and  separation. 

'Any  branch  of  that  Church  which  resolved  to 
correct  abuses  that  were  obstinately  retained  by  the 
supreme  central  Authority,  was  compelled  to  throw 
off  submission  to  that  Authorit}^,  and  to  assert  its 
independence.  And  then,  those  who  adhered  to  the 
Church  which  claimed  to  be  the  Universal  Church, 
naturally  regarded  the  others  as  not  only  erroneous, 
but  Heretics,  and  Schismatics. 


268  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

And  such  they  undoubtedly  ivould  have  been  had 
they  separated  on  insufficient  grounds.  They  had 
done  that  which  would  have  been  sinful,  if  it  had  not 
been  justified  by  the  corruptions  in  essential  points 
of  Faith  and  Worship,  which  the  supreme  central  Au- 
thority had  obstinately  refused  to  correct.  This  refusal 
transferred  the  sin  of  causing  the  division,  from  the 
revolters,  to  those  who  made  the  revolt  necessary. 

But  of  course  a  separation  thus  effected  gave  rise 
to  much  more  hostile  feelings  on  both  sides  than 
would  have  been  likely  to  exist  between  Churches 
that  had  been  originally  distinct,  and  had  always 
continued  so ;  neither  claiming  any  control  over  the 
other.  Such  Churches  might,  indeed,  have  been  to  a 
certain  degree  alienated  from  each  other  by  differences 
in  Doctrine  or  Discipline ;  but  there  would  not  have 
been  the  additional  provocations  of  a  revolt,  and  an 
unfriendly  separation  on  the  one  side,  and  a  claim  of 
supremacy  on  the  other. 

And,  accordingly,  it  was  on  the  very  ground  of  the 
Reformed  being  Heretics  and  Scliismatics  that  the 
secular  poioer  was  called  in  to  reduce  them  by  force  to 
submission.  Princes  were  not  called  on  to  wage  war 
against  religious  error ^  merely  as  such  ;  but  they  wftre 
urged  to  reduce  to  obedience  those  who  had  revolted 
against  the  Church  to  which  they  were  bound  to  be 
subject.  And  thus  religious  wars,  and  fierce  perse- 
cutions, and  mutual  hatred  were  introduced,  far 
beyond  what  would  have  been  likely  to  arise  if  the 
original  independence  of  numerous  Churches  had 
always  continued. 


CORRUPllONS  OF   CHRISTIANITY.  269 

"When  several  distinct  Churches  had  been  established 
in  revolt — the  members  of  them  having  been  com- 
pelled to  secede  from  the  Community  they  had  be- 
longed to,  on  account  of  a  disagreement  as  to  the 
fundamentals  of  Christianity — the  result  was,  that  the 
ideas  of  distinctness^  and  of  disagreement^  often  came  to 
be,  in  some  measure,  blended  together  in  men's  minds. 
There  was  a  sort  of  presumption  created,  that  any 
Churches  indej^ejideni  of  each  other  may  be  expected 
to  be  at  variance.  That  mutual  friendly  feeling  and 
free  inter-communion  which  prevailed  in  the  earliest 
ages — when  an  Ephesian  Christian,  for  instance, 
going  to  settle  at  Corinth,  or  at  any  other  place  where 
there  was  a  christian  Church,  and  bringing  proper 
testimonials,  was  at  once  received  as  a  member  of  that 
Church — were  much  impaired,  and  sometimes  for- 
gotten. 

And,  moreover,  when  men  had  become  familiarly 
accustomed  to  separation,  from  having  been  forced 
into  it,  they  were  in  danger  of  becoming  careless  about 
it,  and  disposed  to  think  lightly  of  the  sin  of  Schism. 

Something  similar  takes  place  in  many  other  cases. 
For  instance,  those  who  have  been  placed  in  such 
circumstances  as  to  make  the  shedding  of  blood  an 
unavoidable  evil,  are  in  danger  of  gradually  losing 
their  original  repugnance  to  it,  and  becoming  so  far 
hardened,  as  to  think  little  of  sacrificing  human  life, 
even  iviihout  necessity. 

It  is  the  same  in  the  matter  now  before  us.  There 
is  always  a  danger  that  necessary  separations  may  lead 
to  others  not  necessary,  and  may  have  prepared  men's 


270  KISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

minds  to  make  every  little  difference,  even  on  points 
of  no  vital  importance,  a  ground  for  setting  up  new 
sects.  The  colour  of  a  Minister's  vestment, — the 
names  of  the  months,  and  of  the  days  of  the  week 
— the  mode  of  conducting  Church  music, — the  using 
or  not  using  of  a  ring  in  matrimony, — on  these  and 
such  like  matters,  differences  of  opinion  have  been 
made  a  plea  for  separation. 

Now,  it  is  much  less  likely  that  this  would  have 
occurred  in  Churches  which  had  not  broken  off  from 
any  other,  but  had  been  all  along  distinct  Communi- 
ties. For  though,  in  any  such  Church,  differences  of 
opinion  on  minor  points  might  have  arisen,  it  is  likely 
that  men  would  have  agreed  to  some  compromise, 
rather  than  occasion  hostile  divisions. 

It  is  true,  indeed,  that  in  almost  every  question, 
however  insignificant,  there  is  a  better  and  a  worse 
decision;  and  the  decision  of  each  man's  own  judg- 
ment will,  of  course,  appear  to  himself  to  be  the  bet- 
ter. But  in  matters  not  essential,  it  is  evidently  a 
duty  to  yield,  or  to  adopt  a  compromise,  rather  than 
endanger  christian  concord.  For  -if  each  person  were 
to  draw  up  what  might  appear  to  himself  the  very 
best  form  of  Church  Grovernment,  and  the  best  possi- 
ble mode  of  expressing  each  christian  Doctrine,  and 
the  most  perfect  Eitual  for  divine  Worship,  and  should 
resolve  not  to  belong  to  any  Church  that  did  not  ex- 
actly adopt  all  these  in  every  particular,  it  is  plain 
that  there  would  be  almost  as  many  Sects  as  families, 
and  tliat  no  christian  community  at  all  could  subsist 
for  a  single  year. 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  271 

But,  as  has  been  above  said,  when  unfriendly  sepa- 
rations bad  been  once  begun,  through  a  necessity 
caused  by  the  obstinate  retaining  of  abuses,  causeless 
divisions  often  ensued  from  men's  having  become 
familiarised  to  divisions,  and  almost  entirely  regard- 
less of  Church-union. 

And  again,  abhorrence  of  such  divisions  has  led 
some  Christians  to  adopt  the  sj^stem  of  making  a  State 
and  a  Church  one  Community^  and  assigning  to  the 
Civil  Magistrate  the  entire  control  in  spiritual  matters, 
and  the  right  of  dictating  to  the  consciences  of  all  the 
citizens.  And  thus  under  the  name  of  "  making  the 
State  religious"  and  "  providing  for  the  greatest  good 
of  its  subjects,"  they  make  Christ's  a  kingdom  of  this 
world. 

With  this  fault,  and  with  the  endless  divisions  which 
have  contributed  to  cause  it,  Reformers  are  often  ex- 
ultingly  reproached  by  the  advocates  of  the  system  of 
having  one  great  Church  which  is  to  comprehend  all 
Christians,  and  to  dictate  to  them  their  faith  and 
practice.  See,  they  say,  what  are  the  consequences 
of  once  allowing  any  separation  from  the  Church  on 
any  grounds  whatever  !  When  you  have  once  begun, 
you  cannot  tell  where  to  stop. 

Now,  in  truth,  that  very  Church  from  which  the 
Reformers  revolted,  was  (as  has  been  above  pointed 
out)  the  original  cause  of  all  these  evils.  In  the  first 
place,  by  obstinately  adhering  to  an  accumulated  mass 
of  gross  corruptions,  it  made  a  thorough  reformation 
necessary.  And  secondly,  by  having  absorbed  into  one 
Community  a  multitude  of  distinct  Churches,  it  made 


272  KISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

separation  a  necessary  part  of  reformation.  And  thus 
it  not  only  retarded  needful  reformations,  and  made 
them  more  difficulty  but  also  made  them,  when  they 
did  come,  much  more  hurtful^  and  more  exposed  to  the 
dangers  which  are  attendant  on  any  great  reformation. 

As  for  what  are,  and  are  not,  such  essential  points 
as  to  warrant  separation,  it  would  of  course  be  unsuit- 
able to  our  present  purpose  to  enter  on  the  discussion 
of  such  a  subject.  But  every  one  should  be  warned, 
that  in  each  question  of  the  kind  that  may  arise,  he  is 
bound  to  inquire  and  examine  seriously,  carefully,  and 
dispassionately  ;  not  as  if  it  were  merely  a  matter  of 
taste,  fancy,  or  convenience.  We  are  responsible  to 
God  for  the  exercise  of  our  best  discretion  in  forming 
a  decision.  And  we  are  bound  in  duty  to  Him,  to 
take  care  neither  to  sacrifice  the  essentials  of  Chris- 
tianity for  the  sake  of  peace,  nor  again,  lightly  and 
wantonly  to  cause  divisions. 

All  separation,  in  short,  and  all  resistance  to  Church- 
authority,  must  be  either  a  duif/  or  a  sin.  Which  of 
the  two  it  is,  in  each  particular  instance,  each  must 
decide  according  to  the  best  of  his  judgment;  which 
is,  after  all,  fallible.  And  in  no  case  are  we  author- 
ised to  pronounce  our  neighbour  guilty  of  an  unpar- 
donable sin.  But  though  christian  charity  requires  us 
to  make  allowance  for  those  who  appear  to  us  blame- 
able,  it  is  no  part  of  charity  to  confound  the  distinc- 
tions of  right  and  wrong;  nor  indeed  would  there  be 
any  room  for  the  exercise  of  charity  in  judging  of  those 
whom  we  do  not  consider  to  be  acting  wrongly. 

On  these  and  several  other  important  questions  con- 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  273 

nected  -svith  religion,  sonic  persons  are  so  distrustful 
of  what  they  call  "private  judgment," — that  is,  the 
judgment  of  the  generality  of  men,  and  of  themselves, 
— that  they  resolve  to  renounce  altogether  the  exercise 
of  private  judgment  on  all  religious  questions,  and  to 
submit  themselves  in  every  thing  to  the  judgment  of 
their  Church.  They  dwell  much  on  the  incompetency 
of  most  men  to  decide  rightly  on  difficult  points;  and 
consider  that  there  is  a  pious  humility  in  determining 
not  to  exercise  their  own  judgment  at  all. 

But  they  quite  forget  that,  in  the  course  they  adopt, 
they  do  decide  on  one  most  important  and  difficult 
point.  A  man  who  resolves  to  place  himself  under  a 
certain  guide  to  be  implicitly  followed,  and  decides 
that  such  and  such  a  Church  is  the  appointed  infalli- 
ble guide,  does  decide  on  his  own  private  judgment, 
that  one  most  important  point,  which  includes  in  it  all 
other  decisions  relative  to  Religion.  And  if,  by  his 
own  shewing,  he  is  unfit  to  judge  at  all,  he  can  have  no 
ground  for  confidence  that  he  has  decided  it  rightly. 
And  if,  accordingly,  he  will  not  trust  himself  to  judge 
even  on  this  point,  but  resolves  to  consult  his  priest, 
or  some  other  friends,  and  be  led  entirely  by  iJieir 
judgment  thereupon,  still  he  does,  in  thus  resolving, 
exercise  his  own  judgment  as  to  the  counsellors  he  so 
relies  on. 

There  is  no  need,  therefore,  to  dispute  about  the 
right^  or  about  the  duty^  of  private  judgment.  For 
there  is  plainly  an  unavoidable  necessity  of  private 
judgment,  on  any  subject  wherein  we  take  any  serious 
interest.  The  responsibility  is  one  which,  however 
12* 


274  KISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

unfit  we  may  deem  ourselves  to  bear  it,  we  cannot 
possibly  get  rid  of,  in  any  matter  about  which  we 
really  feel  an  anxious  care.  It  is  in  vain  to  discuss 
the  questions  whether  we  may^  or  whether  we  ought^ 
to  exercise  private  judgment,  since  we  must  do  so, 
whether  we  will  or  no. 

That  which  often  misleads  men  in  this  matter,  is, 
that  we  can  refrain  from  exercising  private  judgment 
on  this  or  that  particular  pointy  by  transferring  our  judg- 
ment to  some  other  point.  For  example — A  sick 
man  who  is  conscious  of  his  own  want  of  knowledge 
of  medicine,  may  refrain  from  exercising  any  judg- 
ment as  to  the  remedies  he  should  use,  and  may  put 
himself  wholly  in  the  hands  of  a  physician ;  that  is, 
he  judges  that  a  physician  is  needful,  and  that  such 
and  such  a  practitioner  is  worthy  of  confidence.  Or, 
supposing  he  distrusts  his  own  judgment  on  this  point 
also,  then  he  consults  some  friend  whom  he  judges  to 
be  trustworthy,  as  to  ichat  physician  he  shall  employ. 
In  one  way,  or  else  in  another,  he  cannot  but  exercise 
private  judgment.  So,  also,  if  a  man  inherit  a  great 
fortune,  and  have  a  strong  sense  of  the  great  responsi- 
bility attending  it,  and  of  his  own  unfitness  to  dispose 
of  his  wealth,  he  may  resolve  to  make  it  all  over  to 
trustees,  to  distribute  in  charity  at  their  discretion. 
He  may  have  judged  rightly  in  so  doing;  but  it  is 
evident  he  does  judge,  and  does  exercise  an  act  of  own- 
ership once  for  all,  in  thus  divesting  himself  of  his 
property.  And  if  he  deem  himself  incompetent  even 
to  the  task  of  selecting  trustees,  and  relies  on  the  judg- 
ment of  some  friend  as  to  what  persons  he  shall  appoint 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  275 

trustees,  still  he  is  exercising  liis  judgment  in  the 
selection  of  that  friend.  The  responsibility  is  one 
which  he  cannot  shake  off,  do  what  he  will. 

The  man  w4io  in  the  course  of  God's  providence 
comes  into  the  possession  of  wealth,  is  by  that  provi- 
dence, entrusted  with  the  stewardship  of  that  wealth, 
however  ill-qualified  he  may  seem,  to  us,  or  to  himself, 
for  such  a  charge.  And  instead  of  murmuring  or 
wondering  at  God's  dispensations,  or  trying  in  vain  to 
shake  off  the  responsibility  thus  laid  on  him,  he  should 
set  himself  to  do  the  best  he  can  towards  the  fulfil- 
ment of  the  duty  imposed  on  him. 

And  it  is  the  same  in  all  cases.  We  do  and  must 
exercise  our  judgment,  on  one  point  or  on  another,  in 
all  matters  except  those  in  which  we  take  no  interest^ 
and  which  do  not  occupy  our  thoughts.  In  most  of 
the  causes,  for  instance,  which  are  tried  in  a  court  of 
justice,  w^e  do  not  trouble  ourselves  to  exercise  any 
judgment,  if  we  know  or  care  nothing  about  either 
plaintiff  or  defendant,  and  feel  no  interest  in  the 
decision. 

Accordingly,  if  any  one  resolves  that  he  wall  not 
exercise  any  judgment  on  religious  matters,  and  really 
does  consistently  keep  to  that  rule,  not  deceiving  him- 
self (as  many  do)  in  the  way  just  above  noticed,  by 
judging  on  one  point  instead  of  another,  he  will  find 
that  there  is  only  one  possible  way  of  complying  with 
that  rule — namely,  by  withdraiving  his  attention  as 
much  as  possible  from  the  whole  subject,  except  as  far 
as  regards  outward  forms  and  observances,  and  refrain- 
ing altogether  from  considering  the  questions,  what 


276  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

the.  cliristian  Religion  is,  and  whether  there  is  any 
truth  in  it. 

And  there  are  not  a  few  who  really  do,  in  this  way, 
abstain  from  exercising  any  judgment  at  all  in  reli- 
gious matters,  and  are  content  to  do  and  say  just  what 
they  have  been  accustomed  to,  without  any  serious 
reflection  on  the  subject.  But  even  so,  they  do  not 
escape  responsibility.  For  we  are  responsible,  not 
only  for  doing,  but  also  for  leaving  undone ;  else,  the 
servant  who  hid  his  Lord's  talent  in  the  earth  would 
have  escaped  condemnation. 

Of  course  it  is  not  meant  that  on  any  important 
point  a  man  ought  to  make  up  his  mind,  unassisted, 
and  without  consulting  those  whom  he  may  consider 
to  be  intelligent,  and  well-informed,  and  upright 
advisers.  Only,  let  him  not  deceive  himself  by 
imagining  that  he  can  forego  all  exercise  of  his  own 
judgment  in  any  matter  about  which  he  has  a  real 
and  anxious  care. 

And,  on  the  other  hand,  we  should  guard  against 
the  opposite  mistake  of  supposing  that  whatever  is  left 
to  our  own  discretion  is,  therefore,  left  to  our  cajprice^ 
and  may  be  decided  on  at  random.  We  may  have  a 
right  to  do  many  things  which  we  should  not  he  right 
in  doing.  For  instance,  when  any  bill  is  brought  into 
Parliament,  each  member  has  an  undoubted  right  to 
vote  for  it  or  against  it ;  but  it  would  be  absurd  to  say 
that  he  would  he  equally  right  in  doing  either.  It  is  in 
such  cases,  and  in  such  alone,  that  there  is  room  for 
the  exercise  of  any  such  quality  as  good  sense,  wis- 
dom, discretion,  &c.     For,  in  matters  quite  indifferent, 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  277 

there  is  clearly  no  exercise  of  judgment  in  deciding. 
Nor,  again,  is  there  any  room  for  it  in  matters  that  are 
already  decided  for  us,  and  in  which  we  have  no  choice: 
as,  for  instance,  when  a  Judge  has  to  declare  what  the 
law  actually  is  on  such  and  such  a  point.  But  when  a 
Legislator  is  called  on  to  decide  what  the  law  ourjJu  to 
be,  and,  in  short,  in  every  case  where  we  have  to 
decide,  and  where  there  may  be  a  better  or  a  worse 
decision,  it  is  then,  and  then  only,  that  there  is  room 
for  the  exercise  of  good  sense. 

We  should  keep  in  mind,  then,  that  as  the  exercise 
of  our  own  judgment  (in  matters  in  which  we  feel  a 
deep  interest)  is,  on  the  one  hand,  unavoidable^  so  it  is, 
on  the  other  hand,  resi^onsiUe.  We  are  bound  to  use, 
to  the  best  of  our  power,  such  faculties  and  oppor- 
tunities as  God's  providence  may  have  bestowed  on 
ns,  in  judging  of  any  question  pertaining  to  Ecligion  ; 
and  among  others,  in  any  question  as  to  separation. 

But  though,  as  we  have  already  said,  much  blame 
attaches  to  those  who  hastily,  and  on  slight  grounds, 
separate  from  their  Church ;  a  Church,  on  the  other 
hand,  is  not  exempted  from  a  share  of  blame,  wliich 
narrows  too  much  its  terms  of  communion.  Some 
terms,  of  course,  are  indispensable ;  since  persons  dif- 
fering as  to  the  fundamentals  of  christian  Doctrine  and 
Worship  cannot  possibly  be  members  of  the  same 
christian  Community.  But  care  should  be  taken  not 
to  go  beyond  what  is  necessary.  If  possible,  none 
should  be  excluded  of  those  who  can  join  in  christian 
Worship  together,  and  receive  instruction  together  in 
the  essential  truths  of  the  Gospel.     To  multiply  Arti- 


278  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

cles  of  Faith  and  Ordinances,  unnecessarily,  manifestly 
tends  to  create  divisions. 

And  it  is  not  enough  to  say  that  these  Articles  are, 
all,  such  as  we  are  convinced  are  scriptural,  and  that 
none  of  our  Ordinances  are  contrary  to  Scripture,  and 
that  the  scruples  of  those  who  object  to  them  are 
unfounded  and  frivolous.  All  this  may  be  true ;  and 
it  may  be  true  that  those  are  to  blame  who  on  such 
grounds  separate  from  the  Church ;  yet  this  does  not 
clear  from  blame  those  who  put  a  stumbling-block  in 
the  way  of  weak  brethren  by  insisting  on  points  that 
are  not  essential,  and  on  which  persons  may  differ  who 
are  yet  capable  of  worshipping  together  as  Members 
of  the  same  christian  Church.  "  Him  that  is  weak  in 
the  Faith,  receive  ye,  but  not  to  doubtful  disputa- 
tions."   (Kom.  xiv.  1.) 

It  is  to  be  observed,  however,  that  when  we  speak  of 
points  that  are  and  that  are  not  "  essential,"  we  mean, 
in  this  place,  essential  as  terms  oi  communion ;  not,  of 
salvation.  For  there  are  some  points  of  disagreement 
which  would  completely  prevent  men  from  being  Mem- 
bers of  the  same  Church,  though  hardly  any,  of  either 
party,  would  regard  the  other  as  under  a  fatal  error. 

For  example,  there  are  persons  irreconcilably 
opposed  on  the  subject  of  Church-endowments.  Some 
of  the  advocates  of  what  is  called  "the  voluntary  sys- 
tem" consider  it  as  not  only  objectionable,  but  utterly 
unlawful,  to  attend  what  they  call  a  hired  Ministry* 

*  More  properly  called  M?zhired ;  being  supported,  not  like  a  labourer 
by  the  wages  of  his  employer,  but  by  endowments  similar  to  those  of 
many  Hospitals,  Colleges,  &c. 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  279 

— that  is,  one  maintained  by  endowments.  And  the 
other  party,  though  not  holding  it  absolutely  unlawful 
for  a  Minister  to  be  dependant  on  the  voluntary  contri- 
butions of  his  People  (since  "the  labourer  is  worthy 
of  his  hire,")  yet  consider  this  so  very  undesirable^  that 
they  would  feel  bound  to  support  and  promote  the 
system  of  endowments.  Now  these  two  parties  could 
hardly  continue  members  of  the  same  Church.  And 
yet  neither  need  regard  the  other  as  having  abandoned 
the  fundamentals  of  Christianity. 

The  same  may  be  said  of  an  irreconcilable  disagree- 
ment as  to  the  use  of  extemporary  prayer,  and  of  stated 
forms,  in  Public  Worship.  Some  consider  the  use  of 
any  form,  even  the  Lord's  Prayer,  as  not  allowable. 
Others,  again,  believe  that  a  special  promise  is  made 
to  the  "common"  prayers  of  a  Congregation  who 
^^  agree  together  touching  something  they  shall  ask  in 
Christ's  name ;"  and  that,  accordingly,  they  are  bound 
to  pray  together,  (either  audibly  or  mentally,)  and  not 
merely  to  listen  to  the  prayers  off'ered  up  by  another. 
And  they  hold  it  to  be  impossible,  in  most  cases,  that 
a  Congregation  (at  least,  the  tchole  of  it)  can  so  con- 
stantly go  along  with  all  that  is  said  by  an  extempo- 
rary speaker,  as  to  accompany — properly  speaking — • 
his  prayers;  that  is,  so  as  not  only  to  understand  and 
approve  what  he  says,  but  to  make  his  prayers  their 
own  prayers  also  at  the  moment.  These  prayers, 
accordingly,  will  generally  be,  they  conceive,  rather 
of  the  character  of  exhortations  addressed  to  the  Peo- 
ple by  the  Minister,  than  of  joint-prayers  addressed 
by  the  People  to  God. 


280  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

Now  persons  strongly  impressed  with  these  opposite 
notions  could  not  be  united  in  one  Church,  though 
thej  may  not  regard  each  other  as  fatally  in  error. 

It  has  been  above  said,  that  a  man  is  deeply  respon- 
sible for  the  sin  of  Schism,  if  he  should,  without  evi- 
dent and  strong  necessity,  separate  from  his  Church. 
But  some  have  doubted  what  Church  it  is  that  has  this 
general  claim  to  his  allegiance ;  whether  that  which  is 
established  by  law ;  or  that  which  his  ancestors  for- 
merly belonged  to;  or  that  in  which  he  himself  has 
been  brought  up. 

As  for  the  first  of  these,  the  Religion  established  by 
law,  has  not,  on  that  ground,  any  claim  on  the  con- 
science. A  member,  for  example,  of  the  Church  of 
England  becomes  a  dissenter  if  he  settle  in  some  part 
of  the  Empire  where  some  other  form  of  religion  is 
established.  But  if  he  is  conscientiously  a  member  of 
his  own  original  Church,  and  sees  no  reason  to  con- 
sider it  unscriptural,  he  has  no  right  to  forsake  it  on 
political  grounds. 

As  for  the  Church  to  which  one's  ancestors  may 
have  belonged,  no  one  should  think  himself  bound  to 
investigate  obscure  and  difficult  questions  of  history, 
and  to  judge  of  all  the  acts  of  those  who  founded  or 
reformed  his  Church,  perhaps  several  centuries  ago,  in 
order  to  decide  whether  he  is  permitted  or  whether  he 
is  bound,  to  continue  in  the  Church  in  which  he  was 
brought  up.  If  those  foundei's  separated  unreason- 
ably, they  indeed  were  chargeable  wnth  the  sin  of 
Schism.  But  it  would  be  to  create  a  fresh  Schism,  if 
he  were  to  forsake  the  Church  he  was  brought  up  in, 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  281 

not  from  feeling  any  objection  to  its  Doctrines  or 
Worship,  but  merely  on  the  ground  that  its  original 
formation  was  not  justifiable. 

And  a  like  principle  is  universally  recognised  in  all 
civil  affairs.  Else,  indeed,  the  whole  World  would  be 
filled  with  perpetual  rebellions  and  civil  wars.  For 
example,  ever}^  one  knows  that  Norway  was  formerly 
united,  not  to  Sweden,  but  to  Denmark — that,  in  like 
manner,  Normandy,  and  other  provinces  of  France, 
and  also  the  North  American  States,  formerly  belonged 
to  England ;  and  that  Ireland  at  one  time  consisted  of 
several  independent  Kingdoms.  But  if  a  Norman 
were  to  hold  that  he  owed  no  allegiance  to  the  French 
Government,  or  an  American  to  that  of  the  United 
States,  and  so  on,  unless  every  such  separation  and 
annexation  could  be  proved  originally  justifiable,  and 
if  every  man  were  to  think  himself  authorised  on  such 
grounds  to  raise  revolt,  there  would  be  hardly  such  a 
thing  as  a  peaceable  Government  on  Earth. 

Each  man,  therefore,  owes  allegiance,  generally,  to 
the  Church  in  which  he  has  been  brought  up,  unless 
he  find  this  incompatible  with  his  reverence  for 
God's  Word,  and  his  obedience  to  the  divine  Will. 

Independently,  however,  of  any  disagreement^  a 
separation  may  take  place  with  the  consent  of  all 
parties,  of  one  Branch  of  a  Church  from  the  rest, 
merely  from  reasons  of  convenience,  and  without  any 
interruption  of  harmony  and  inter-communion,  any 
more  than  among  the  several  distinct  Churches  ori- 
ginally founded  by  the  Apostles.  For  example,  this 
took  place  with  the  American  Episcopalian  Church, 


282  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

which  formerly  was  a  portion  of  the  Church  of 
England.  When  the  American  States  became  poli- 
tically independent,  the  inconvenience  of  having  one 
Church  whose  members  were  citizens  of  different 
political  Communities,  was  so  plain  to  all  parties,  that 
a  friendly  separation  was  agreed  on.  And  if  this 
had  been  done  long  before,  by  mutual  consent,  merely 
on  the  ground  of  the  inconvenient  distance  between 
the  two  Countries,  no  one  could  have  had  any  right 
to  find  fault  with  the  measure.  For,  any  union  or 
separation  that  is  made  by  mutual  consent,  is  evi- 
dently a  matter  which  the  parties  concerned  have  a 
full  right  to  determine  for  themselves. 

But  difficult  questions  may  arise  when  both  parties 
do  not  thus  agree ;  those  who  desire  to  form  themselves 
into  a  distinct  Church  being  opposed  by  the  rest. 
Suppose,  for  instance,  that  on  the  occasion  just  al- 
luded to,  the  English  Church  had  refused  to  consent 
to  the  independence  of  the  American,  and  had  insisted 
on  retaining  control  over  them.  In  any  such  case, 
those  desiring  to  secede  should,  in  the  first  place, 
satisfy  themselves,  on  careful  consideration,  that  the 
evils  they  seek  to  remedy  are  not  only  real,  but  great, 
and  likely  to  interfere  with  the  objects  for  which 
Churches  exist.  Next,  they  should  respectfully,  and 
in  a  spirit  of  kindness,  set  forth  their  reasons,  and 
listen  candidly  to  what  may  be  urged  on  the  opposite 
side.  And  if  they  see  no  reason  to  alter  their  opinion, 
they  should  still  remonstrate  earnestly  and  perseve- 
ringly,  before  they  take  the  extreme  step  of  seceding 
without  the  consent  of  their  brethren. 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  283 

In  these,  however,  and  in  all  similar  matters,  it  is 
impossible  to  lay  down  rules  such  as  will  at  once 
apply  to  every  case  that  may  arise.  There  must 
always  be  room  for  the  exercise  of  sound  judgment 
and  candour,  in  deciding  on  eacli  particular  question. 

There  is  one  principle,  however,  which  should 
always  be  kept  in  mind,  and  which,  obvious  as  it  is, 
men  often  lose  sight  of  in  practice ;  namely,  that  a 
necessity  imposed  by  external  circumstances,  and  for 
which  we  are  not  responsible,  will  justify,  and  call 
for,  such  measures  as  icould  be  sinful  if  there  were  no 
such  necessity.  We  should  be  careful,  therefore,  not 
to  commit  either  the  error  of  censuring  men  for  doing 
what  would,  in  ordinary  circumstances,  be  wrong; 
or  the  error  of  supposing  ourselves  at  liberty  to  do, 
at  any  time  and  under  any  circumstances,  whatever 
has,  in  some  particular  case,  been  justifiably  and 
rightly  done. 

In  the  ordinary  affairs  of  life,  this  principle  is,  in 
general,  well  understood  and  acted  on.  For  example, 
for  a  number  of  men,  citizens  of  any  State,  to  as- 
semble, and  by  their  own  authority,  declare  them- 
selves a  Senate,  and  proceed  to  elect  Magistrates,  and 
enact  Laws,  and  establish  a  Government,  would  justly 
be  regarded  as  a  most  heinous  act  of  rebellion ;  and 
all  their  laws,  (hewever  good  in  themselves,)  would 
be  evidently  null  and  void.  But  if  a  number  of 
persons  were  to  find  themselves  wrecked  on  a  desert 
island,  or  the  sole  survivors  of  a  pestilence,  or  in 
some  other  way  left  to  themselves,  no  one  would 
contend  that  they  were  bound  thenceforward  to  live 


284  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

in  a  state  of  anarchy,  because  they  had  no  legiti- 
mate Kulers  or  Laws.  They  would  be  authorised, 
and  bound,  to  agree  as  well  as  they  could,  in  esta- 
blishing some  sort  of  Government.  And  the  Laws 
and  Magistrates  thus  appointed  would  have  as  good 
a  claim  to  obedience  as  those  of  any  Country  in  the 
World ;  because  it  is  plainly  necessary  to  human 
welfare,  and  agreeable  to  the  divine  Will,  that  men 
should  live  under  a  regular  Government.  Yet  this 
case  would  afford  no  precedent  for  any  persons  who 
should  take  upon  them  to  break  up  an  existing 
Community,  and  to  revolt  against  "  the  Powers  that 
be." 

So  also,  if  the  persons  thus  situated  were  to  find 
themselves  without  regularly  ordained  Clergy,  or 
without  any  except  such  as  they  were  full}^  convinced 
had  abandoned  the  genuine  Doctrines  of  the  Gospel, 
it  would  be  absurd  to  suppose  it  could  be  the  Will  of 
their  Heavenly  Master,  that  they  should  remain  for 
ever  destitute  of  a  christian  Ministry  and  Church- 
ordinances.  They  would  clearly  be  conforming  to 
the  spirit  of  his  injunctions,  in  forming  themselves 
into  a  Church,  and  appointing  various  Orders  of 
Ministers,  selecting  the  best  qualified  persons  they 
could  find,  for  each  office,  and  establishing  Church- 
regulations  according  to  the  best  of  their  judgment. 
And  the  necessity  under  which  they  were  placed, 
would  justify,  and  render  valid,  all  their  acts  and 
appointments;  supposing  them  always  not  to  be  in 
themselves  superstitious  or  unscriptural.  But  such  a 
case  would  afford  no  fair  precedent  for  persons  differ- 


CORRUPTIONS  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  285 

ently  circumstanced,  who  sboiilJ  take  upon  themselves, 
wantonly  and  without  necessity,  to  ordain  Ministers, 
and  set  up  themselves  as  a  new  Church. 

So,  also,  there  may  be  extreme  cases  of  such  cruel 
and  intolerable  oppression  as  to  justify  subjects  in 
revolting  against  an  established  Government.  But 
extreme  cases  do  not  destroy  the  authority  of  a 
general  rule,  though  they  may  authorize  an  excep- 
tional departure  from  it.  And  it  is  undoubtedly  true, 
as  a  general  rule,  that  we  are  in  duty  bound  to  submit 
to  existing  Governments. 

Again,  if  the  loyal  portion  of  a  garrison  were  to 
revolt  from  a  general,  who  had  turned  traitor,  and 
was  betraying  the  city  into  an  enemy's  hands,  so  far 
from  being  treasonable  in  thus  revolting,  they  would 
have  been  abettors  of  treason  if  they  had  not.  And 
yet  the  general  rule  is,  that  soldiers  are  bound  to  obey 
their  commander. 

In  like  manner,  submission  to  Church-authority, 
and  the  preservation  of  Church-union,  are  the  rule ; 
and  resistance,  or  separation,  the  exception.  The 
burden  of  proof  lies  with  those  who  undertake  to 
justify  a  departure  from  a  rule.  And  if  they  do  thus 
justify  themselves,  their  case  affords  no  fair  precedent 
for  those  who  would  introduce  general  discord  and 
confusion. 

It  is  to  be  observed,  however,  that  when  we  speak 
of  the  general  claim  to  obedience,  which  the  Laws  of 
any  Community — civil  or  ecclesiastical — have  on  its 
Members,  this  does  not  imply  such  a  blind  venera- 
tion as  should  withhold  us  from  seeking  any  needful 


286  RISE,    PROGRESS,    AND 

amendment.  Any  one  who  scorns  the  absurdity  of 
attributing  infallibility  to  human  Beings,  would  be 
himself  guilty  of  a  still  greater  absurdity,  if,  while 
considering  all  men  as  fallible,  he  should  yet  act  as  if 
they  were  m-fallible,  by  insisting  that  all  their  insti- 
tutions and  regulations  should  be  like  the  Laws  of  the 
Medes  and  Persians,  which  could  never  be  changed ; 
and  that  no  one  should  even  inquire  whether  amend- 
ment in  any  point  be  possible,  and  needful.  All 
wanton  and  hasty  changes,  indeed,  should,  in  all 
subjects,  be  avoided;  the  presumption  being,  as  has 
been  above  said,  against  every  alteration.  And  a 
man's  veneration  for  any  existing  Constitution — 
whether  in  Church  or  in  State — may  reasonably  lead 
him  to  deprecate  any  fundamental  change.  But  the 
best  security  against  this, — in  short,  against  revolu- 
tion,— is,  the  constant  correction  of  abuses,  and  the 
introduction  of  improvements  as  they  are  needed.  It 
is  the  neglect  of  timely  repairs  (as  was  remarked 
above)  that  makes  rebuilding  necessary. 

And,  moreover,  the  amendment  of  any  Law  that 
is  faulty,  tends  (beside  the  immediate  benefit)  to 
increase  men's  confidence  in  those  that  are  left  un- 
changed ;  and  in  this  way  contributes  to  the  stability 
of  the  whole  system.  For  it  creates  a  presumption 
that  what  is  left  unchanged,  is  so  left  for  some  good 
and  sufficient  reasons^  and  not  from  a  mere  blind 
determination  against  any  change,  whether  for  the 
worse  or  for  the  better. 

Some  persons,  however,  there  are,  who  are  far 
from  thinking  all  existing  laws  (civil  or  ecclesiastical) 


CORRUPTIONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  287 

faultless ;  and  who,  on  that  ground,  hold  themselves 
at  liberty  to  disobey  or  evade  any  that  they  think 
objectionable.  But  if  these  very  persons  are  called 
on  to  exert  themselves  to  procure,  in  a  regular  way, 
a  remedy  for  the  evil,  they  will  shrink  from  the 
trouble,  or  expense,  or  odium,  they  miglit  thus  incur 
for  the  public  good.  There  are  many,  for  example, 
who  from  their  disapprobation  of  the  existing  revenue 
laws,  or  game  laws,  &;c.,  will  violate  these  without 
scruple,  when  they  can  do  so  with  impunity.  But 
when  urged  to  exert  themselves  in  perseveringly 
calling  the  attention  of  the  Legislature  to  these  laws, 
they  will  plead  that  it  is  no  concern  of  theirs,  but 
only  of  their  Eulers. 

And  they  act  in  the  same  way  with  respect  to 
Church-regulations ;  disregarding  without  scruple  any 
that  they  disapprove ;  but  refiising  to  take  any  pains 
for  the  regular  correction  of  anything  they  complain 
of 

But  a  truly  conscientious  and  right-minded  man 
will  pursue  exactly  the  opposite  course.  As  long  as 
a  law  exists^  he  will  feel  bound  to  obey  it,  as  far  as  he 
can  with  a  safe  conscience.  But  if  he  consider  it  an 
unwise  law,  he  will  exert  himself  to  have  it  amended 
by  competent  authority;  or,  if  necessary,  to  have 
some  competent  authority  appointed  for  the  purpose 
of  rectifying  whatever  may  be  amiss.  These  exer- 
tions may,  perhaps,  cost  him  much  more  trouble  and 
discomfort  than  he,  individually,  suffers  from  the 
existing  state  of  things.  But  he  will  not  hesitate  to 
sacrifice  his  own  immediate  personal  comfort  and  ease, 


288    KISE,    PROGRESS,    &C.,    OF   CHRISTIANITY. 

for  the  lasting  benefit  of  liis  Countiymen  and  fellow- 
Christians.  For  a  true  Christian  is  most  emphatically 
and  pre-eminently  public-spirited.  *'NoNE  OF  us," 
says  the  Apostle  Paul,  "liveth  unto  himself." 
(Rom.  xiv.  7.)  And  he  who  is  the  most  sedulously 
occupied  in  working  out,  on  Gospel  principles,  his 
own  salvation,  will  always  be  found  the  most  devo- 
tedly active  in  promoting  the  welfare  of  bis  brethren. 


THE   END. 


CATALOGUE  OF  BOOKS 


PUBLISHED   BY 


WILLIAM    GOWANS 


"  Jyiivranre  it  the  curse  of  God;  InioirltJye  the  wiiii)  whtTticith  ne  fly  to  heaven."' 

SlIAKESHEARB. 


"  WUIioat   bmiki   Gop    I*   »ilent,  juntice    duriHUut,  vataral  teiettet   at   a  ttand,  f-^iilvaojiAy 
lame,  lelter$  liymh,  and  all  tkinyt  inva'ved  in  Ciminenan  darkneu." Bartholin. 


1  i 


Nos.  81,  83,  AND  85  CENTRE   STREET. 


NEW    YORK: 
186  0. 


CATALOGUE 


WILLIAM  GOWANS'  PUBLICATIONS. 


Plato's  Phcedon  ; 

Or,  a  Discussion  on  the  Immortality  of  the  Soul.  Translated 
from  the  Greek  by  Charles  S.  Stanford.  A  new  edition,  enriched 
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Immortality;  together  with  Notes,  historical,  biographical,  and 
mythological.  To  which  is  added  a  Catalogue  of  all  the  work» 
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A  Catalogue  of 
Denton^  Daniel. 

A  Description  of  New  York,  formerly  called  New  Netherlands, 
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new  edition,  with  an  Introduction  and  copious  Historical  Notes, 
by  Gabriel  Furman.     8vo.     pp.  74.     $1.00.  1845. 

Tlie  Same  Worh. 

Large  Paper.     4to.     Only  100  were  printed.     $3.00.  1846. 

Cti^l)ei\  R,  A, 

Th'i  Universal  Stair  Builder :  being  a  new  Treatise  on  the  Con 
struction  of  Staircases  and  Hand-rails,  showing  plans  of  the  va- 
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ders, general  method  of  describing  the  face-moulds  for  a  band-rail, 
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a  new  method  of  sawing  the  twist  part  of  any  hand-rail  square 
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the  sections  of  Prismatic  Solids.  Illustrated  by  29  Plates.  4to. 
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%*  By  competent  judges  this  book  is  accounted  the  best  that  has,  as  yet,  ap- 
peared on  the  subject  of  Stair  Building. 

Cotton^  G,  O. — Lawn; 

Or,  Many  Things  in  Few  Words,  addressed  to  These  "Who  Think. 
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I'he  Same  Worh. 

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Ally 71^  Avery. 

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Odd  Fellows'  Societies.  With  Notes  and  Remarks.  By  Avert 
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William  Gowans^  Publications. 
pTdcliiii  and  Boaz  ; 

Or,  an  Authentic  Key  to  the  Door  of  Freemasonry,  both  Ancient 
and  Modern,  calculated  not  only  for  the  Instruction  of  every 
New-Made  Mason,  but  also  for  the  Information  of  all  who  intend 
to  become  Brethren.  Interspersed  with  a  variety  of  JS'otcs  and 
Remarks,  necossar}-  to  explain  and  render  the  whole  clear  to  the 
meanest  capacity ;  also,  a  New  and  Accurate  List  of  all  the 
English  Regular  Lodges  in  the  World,  according  to  their  Seni- 
oritj',  with  the  dates  of  each  Constitution,  and  Days  of  Meeting; 
to  which  is  added,  Masmiry  Dissected,  by  Samukl  Prichard,  and 
Tlie  Freemason's  Winepress,  consisting  of  Toasts,  Sentiments,  ana 
Anecdotes ;  and  a  Catalogue  of  Books  on  Freemasonry,  and  Kin- 
dred Subjects.     12mo.     pp.  200.     $2.50.  New  York,  1857. 

(jrawan-s^  William. 

A  Catalogue  of  Books  on  Freemasonry  and  Kindrea  Subjects. 

Compiled  by  W.  G.     12mo.    pp.  59.    $L2o.    New  York,  1858. 

"Book  Catalogues  are  to  men  of  letters  what  the  compass  and  the  lighthouse 
are  to  the  mariner,  the  railroad  to  the  merchant,  the  telegraph  wires  to  the  editor, 
the  digested  imlex  to  the  lawyer,  the  pharmacopoeia  and  the  dispensatory  to  the 
j)hysician,  the  sign-post  to  the  traveller,  the  screw,  the  wedge,  and  the  lever  to  the 
mehcanic ;  in  short,  they  are  the  labor-saving  machines,  the  concordance  of  litera- 
ture."—  Western  Memorahilia. 

Ranisay.,  Allan.     The  Gentle  Sheplienl: 

A  Pastoral  Comedy,  in  Five  Acts.  To  which  is  added  the  Life 
of  the  Author,  an  authentic  Portrait,  Criticisms  on  the  Play  by 
various  eminent  writers,  a  new  and  carefully  compiled  Glossary, 
and  a  Catalogue  of  all  the  Scottish  Poets.    12mo.    $1.00.     1852. 

The  Same  Worlc. 

Large  paper,  with  Portrait  on  India  paper.  8vo.  Only  100 
copies  printed.     $3.50.  1852. 

The  Same  Wovlc. 

Extra  large  paper,  with  Portrait  on  India  paper.  4to.  Only 
50  copies  printed.     $6.00.  1852. 

The  Sams  Worlc. 

Cheap  edition,  without  the  introductory  Matter,  Portrait,  and 
Catalogue.     37^  cents. 


6  A  Catalogue  of 

Coleridge^  S.  T. 

Biographia  Literaria ;  or,  Biographical  Sketches  of  My  Literary 
Life  and  Opinions.  From  the  Second  London  Edition.  Pre- 
pared for  publication  in  part  by  H,  N.  Coleridge.  2  vols,  thick 
12mo.     pp.  804.    $1.50.  1852. 

The  Same  Woi'h 

Large  paper.     8vo.     pp.  804.     $3.00.  1852. 

California. 

The  Wonder  of  the  Age.  A  book  for  every  one  going  to  or  hav- 
ing an  interest  in  that  Golden  Region;  being  the  Report  of 
TnoMAS  Butler  King,  United  States'  Government  Agent  in  and 
for  California.     8vo.     pp.  34.     12^  cents.  1850. 

HocliefoucauM.^  Due  de  la. 

Moral  Reflections,  Sentences,  and  Maxims.  Newly  translated 
from  the  French  ;  with  an  Introduction  and  copious  Notes,  and  a 
Life  of  the  Author.  With  an  Elegant  steel  Portrait.  To  which 
is  added  the  Moral  Sentences  and  Maxims  of  the  good  Stanislaus, 
King  of  Poland.  Also  a  Catalogue  of  all  the  Books  written  on 
Proverbs,  Maxims,  Sayings,  Sentences,  Apophthegms,  Simili- 
tudes, etc.,  etc.     12rao.     pp.  237.     $1.25.  1861. 

The  Same  Worh. 

Large  paper,  with  the  Portrait  on  India  paper.  8vo.  pp.  237. 
Only  100  copies  were  printed.     $2.50.  1851. 

The  Same  Worh. 

Extra  large  paper,  with  the  Portrait  on  India  paper.  4to.  pp. 
237.     Only  25  copies  were  printed.     $6.00.  1851. 

Taylor.^  Isaac. 

Physical  Theory  of  Another  Life.  To  which  is  added  a  Cata- 
logue of  all  the  author's  writings,  and  a  Catalogue  of  all  the 
books  published  on  the  Immortality  of  the  Soul.  12mo.  pp. 
278.     $1.00.  1852 


William  Gowans^  Publications. 
Taylor^  Isaac. 

Elements  of  Thought;  or,  Concise  Explanations  {alphabetically 
arranged);  or,  The  Piincipal  Terms  Employed  in  the  Intellectual 
Philosophj-.     r2mo.     pp.  180.     75  cents.  1851. 

Fabe)\  Rev.  George  Stanley.,  B,  JD. 

Difficulties  of  Infidelity.  To  which  is  added,  Modern  Infidelity 
Considered  by  Robert  Hall,  and  a  Catalogue  of  all  the  books 
that  have  been  published  on  the  Evidence  of  Revealed  Religion: 
also,  a  list  of  Mr.  Fabek's  published  writings.  12mo.  pp.  300. 
cloth.     $1.00.  1853. 

WMeara.,  Barry  E..,  Esq. 

Napoleon  in  Exile ;  or,  a  Voice  from  St.  Helena.  Being  the  Re- 
flections and  Opinions  of  Napoleon,  on  the  most  Memorable  and 
Important  Events  of  his  Life  and  Government.  In  his  own 
words.  With  Engravings.  2  vols.  12mo.  pp.  540  and  552. 
cloth.     $2.00.  1853. 

The  Same  Worlc. 

Royal  8vo.     2  vols.     pp.  540  and  552.     $3.00.  1853. 

*'  A  work  professing  to  give  minute  details  of  the  private  life,  and  especially 
the  unreserved  conversation  of  the  most  remahkablk  personage  who  has  ap- 
peared in  modern  times,  must  possess  the  very  highest  claims  to  attention.  *  *  • 
Mr.  O'Meara  very  naturally  kept  a  journal  of  what  passed  between  himself  and 
his  illustrious  patient,  and  the  work  before  us  consists  of  this  journal." 

Kingshury.,  Harmon. 

The  Great  Law  Book.  The  Kingdom  and  Reign  of  the  Messiah^ 
his  Subjects,  Precepts,  and  Government,  With  Preliminary  Re- 
marks on  the  Bible,  its  Author,  Dispensations,  and  other  King- 
doms.    12mo.     pp.  312.    75  cents.  1857. 

Gowans^  William. 

His  Book  Catalogues,  from  1  to  18,  both  inclusive.  Royal  8vo 
cloth.     $2.00.  New  York,  1842-59 


A  Catalogue  of 


REMAINDERS  OF  EDITIONS 

BY     OTHER     PUBLISHERS 


Gall^  John  Joseph. 

The  Phrenological  Works  o£  Translated  into  English  by  W 
Lewis.     6  vols.     12rao.     cloth.     $7.50.  Boston,  1835 

Blake,  W.J. 

The  History  of  Putnam  County,  New  York,  with  an  enumera- 
tion of  its  Towns,  Villages,  Rivers,  Creeks,  Lakes,  Ponds,  Moun- 
tains, Hills,  and  Geological  Features,  Local  Traditions,  and  short 
Biographical  Sketches  of  Early  Settlers.  12rao.  cloth,  pp.368. 
$1.50.  New  York,  1849. 

Louisiana. 

Historical  Collections,  embracing  translations  from  many  rare  and 
valuable  documents  relating  to  the  Natural  and  Local  and  Po 
litical  History  of  that  State.  Compiled  with  Historical  and 
Biographical  Notices,  by  B.  F.  French.  2d  vol.  Map.  8vo. 
cloth,    pp.  301.  New  York  and  Philadelphia. 

This  volume,  besides  seven  other  rare  tracts,  contains  Daniel  Cox's  Description 
»f  Carolina. 

Bastow.^  George. 

History  of  New  Hampshire,  from  its  Discovery  in  1614  to  th«j 
passage  of  the  Toleration  Act  in  1819.  Second  edition.  8^'o. 
cloth,     pp.  456.     $1.00.  New  York,  1853. 

Valentine.^  David  T. 

History  of  the  City  of  New  York.  Maps,  Plans,  and  Illustra- 
tions.   Svo.     cloth,     pp.404.     $L50.  New  York,  1853 


William  Gowani  Publications. 
Rhode  Island  Repudiation. 

Or,  The  History  of  the  Revolutionary  Debt  of  Rhode  Island,  by 
JouN W.  Richmond.  8vo.   pp.224.  75 cents.       Providence,  1855 

Stoho^  Rohei% 

Major  of  the  Colonial  Army  under  General  Braddock  during 
the  French  War  in  the  Western  Territories  of  North  America 
With  a  Plan  of  Fort  Du  Quesne.   ISmo.  pp.  92.    Pittsburg,  1854 

/Stuai%  Moses. 

A  Grammar  of  the  New  Testament  Dialect.  Second  edition 
corrected  and  mostly  written  anew.  8vo.  cloth,  pp.  312.  50 
cents.  Andover,  1857. 

Jfourie7%  Cliarles.^ 

The  Life  of.  By  Ch.  Pellarin,  M.  D.  Second  edition,  with  an 
Appendix.  Translated  by  Francis  Geo.  Shaw.  12mo.  pp.  236. 
50  cents.  New  York,  1848. 

Thomas^  Gabriel. 

An  Historical  and  Geographical  Account  of  the  Province  and 
Country  of  Pennsylvania,  and  of  West  New  Jersey,  in  America ; 
the  Richness  of  the  Soil,  tlie  Sweetness  of  the  Situation,  the 
Wholcsomeness  of  the  Air,  the  Navigable  Rivers  and  others,  the 
Prodigious  Increase  of  Corn,  the  Flourishing  Condition  of  tht 
City  of  Philadelphia,  with  the  stately  buildings  and  other  im 
provements  there ;  the  strange  creatures,  as  Birds,  Beasts 
Fishes,  and  Fowls ;  with  the  several  sorts  of  Minerals,  Purging 
Waters,  and  Stones  lately  discovered  ;  the  Natives — Aborigines 
their  Language,  Religion,  Laws,  and  Customs;  the  first  Planters 
theDutch,  Swedes,  and  English;  with  the  number  of  its  inhabit- 
ants. As  also,  a  touch  upon  George  Keith's  New  Religion,  in 
his  second  change  since  he  left  the  Quakers,  with  a  Map  of  both 
countries,    12mo.    pp.  100.    $1.50.    (Reprint,  New  York,  1848.^ 

London,  1698. 

Treasury  of  Knowledge., 

and  Library  of  Reference,  containing  Gazetteer,  Dictionary, 
Tables,  Grammar,  American  Biography,  etc.,  etc.  New  and 
Revised  Edition.     3  vols.     12mo.     cloth.     $2.50. 

New  York,  1855 


10  A  Catalogue  of 

Toussaint  JJ  Ouverture^ 

The  Life  of.  The  Negro  Patriot  of  Hayti :  comprising  an  Ac- 
count of  the  Struggle  for  Liberty  in  the  Island,  and  a  Sketch  of 
its  History  to  the  present  period,  by  Rev.  John  R.  Beard,  D.  D., 
with  numerous  illustrations.     12mo.    cloth,     pp.  340.     60  cents. 

London,  1853. 

Nftoton^  Sir  Isaac, 

Principia.  The  Mathematical  Principles  of  Natural  Philosophy, 
translated  into  English  by  Andrew  Motte:  to  which  is  added, 
Newton  System  of  the  World,  with  a  Portrait  taken  from  the 
bust  in  the  Royal  Observatory  at  Greenwich.  First  American 
edition,  carefully  revised  and  corrected,  with  a  Life  of  the  Au- 
thor, by  N.  W.  Chittenden,  ^L  A.    8vo.    sheep,    pp.  SSL    f  3.25. 

New  York,  1846. 

Gouraud,  Francis  Faurel. 

Practical  Cosmophonography :  a  System  of  "Writing  and  Print- 
ing all  the  principal  Languages,  with  their  exact  Pronunciation, 
by  means  of  an  original  Universal  Phonetic  Alphabet,  etc.,  aa 
they  occur  in  different  Tongues  and  Dialects,  etc.,  illustrated  by 
numerous  plates,  explanatory  of  the  Calligraphic,  Steno-Phono- 
graphic,  and  Tj'po-Phonograpic  adaptations  of  the  System; 
with  specimens  of  the  Lord's  Prayer,  in  one  hundred  Lan- 
guages: to  which  is  prefixed,  a  General  Introduction,  etc.,  etc. 
8vo.     cloth.     $1.80  New  York,  1850. 

Wise^  John. 

A  System  of  Aeronautics,  comprehending  its  Earliest  Investiga 
tions  and  Modern  Practice  and  Art,  designed  as  a  History  for 
the  common  Reader,  and  Guide  to  the  Student  of  the  Art.  Con- 
taining an  Account  of  the  various  attempts  in  the  Art  of  Flying, 
by  Artificial  Means,  from  the  Earliest  Period  down  to  the  Aero- 
nautic Machine  by  the  Montgolfiers,  in  1782,  and  to  a  later  pe- 
riod, etc.,  etc.     Portrait  and  12  Plates.     8vo,     pp.310.     $1.50. 

Philadelphia,  1850. 

Knapp^  Samuel  Z. 

Advice  in  the  Pursuits  of  Literature,  containing  Historical^ 
Biographical,  and  Critical  Remarks,  12mo.  cloth,  pp.  306. 
66  cents.  New  York,  1837 


William  Goicans'  Publications.  11 

Brodie^  Sir  Benjamin. 

Mind  and  Matter;  or,  Physiological  Inquiries,  in  a  Series  of 
Essays,  intended  to  illustrate  the  mutual  relations  of  the  Physi- 
cal Organization  and  the  Mental  Faculties;  with  additional 
Kotes,  by  an  American  Editor  l2mo  cloth,  pp.  286.  56 
cents  New  York,  1857. 

Boston  Massacre. 

A  short  Narrative  of  the  Horrid  Massacre  in  Boston,  perpetrated 
in  the  Evening  of  the  5th  of  March,  17*70,  by  Soldiers  of  the 
29th  Regiment,  which,  with  the  14th  Regiment,  were  then  quar- 
tered there ;  with  some  Observations  on  the  State  of  Things  prior 
to  that  Catastrophe.  With  Frontispiece,  8vo,  cloth,  pp.  122. 
$1.00.  New  York,  1849. 

Andreivs^  Steplieii  Pearl. 

Discoveries  in  Chinese,  or  the  Symbolism  of  the  Primitive  Char- 
acters of  the  Chinese  System  of  Writing  as  a  Contribution  to 
Philology  and  Ethnology,  and  a  Practical  Aid  in  the  Acquisition 
of  the  Chinese  Language.     12mo.     cloth,     pp.  137.     50  cents. 

New  York,  1854. 

How.^  Henry. 

Virginia,  Historical  Collections  of:  containing  a  collection  of  the 
most  interesting  Facts,  Traditions,  Biographical  Sketches,  Anec- 
dotes, etc.,  relating  to  its  History  and  Antiquities,  together  with 
Geographical  and  Statistical  Descriptions,  to  which  is  added. 
An  Historical  and  Descriptive  Sketch  of  the  District  of  Colum 
bia,  illustrated  by  over  100  engravings,  giving  Views  of  the 
principal  Towns,  Seats  of  Eminent  Men,  Public  Buildings,  Relics 
of  Antiquity,  Historic  Localities,  Natural  Scenery,  etc.,  etc 
Royal  8vo.     i^hecp.     pp.  544.     $2.50.      Charleston,  S.  C,  185G. 

Taylor^  James  B. 

Lives  of    Virginia   Baptist  Ministers.     Second  edition,  revised 
and  enlarged.    Timo.    sheep,    pp.  492.    $1.50.    Richmond,  1838. 
The  book  may  be  styled  the  Virginia  Baptist  Biogi-aphical  Dictionary  :  it  gives 
the  lives  of  one  hundred  and  eighteen  Baptist  Ministers. 


12      Catalogue  of  Wm.  Gowa/n^  Publications. 
Oooke^  George  Frederick^ 

Memoirs  of  the  Life  of,  late  of  the  Theatre  Royal,  Covent  Gar- 
den, by  William  Dunlap,  composed  principally  from  Journals 
and  other  authentic  Documents  left  by  Mr.  Cooke,  and  the  per 
sonal  knowledge  of  the  writer.  Portrait  of  Cooke.  2  vols, 
18mo.     pp.  403  and  400.     $1.25.  New  York,  181  a 

Glenn^  James. 

The  Venereal  Disease:  its  primary  cause  explained,  and  the 
possibility  of  its  being  fully  prevented  described.  Never  before 
published.  To  which  is  added,  A  Few  Remarks  on  the  Laws  re- 
garding Seduction,  Adultery,  and  Prostitution.  Svo.  pp.  12. 
20  cents.  New  York,  1857. 

Poor  RicliariTs  Almanac  {Ben  FranMiii)^ 

Including  all  his  Wise  Sayings,  Maxims,  and  Doggerel  Distiches, 
with  a  Life  of  Franklin  by  himself,  Portrait  and  three  plates,  a 
combination  of  the  years  1736, 1737,  and  1738,  reprint,  elegantly 
got  up.     25  cents. 

•»*  A  copy  of  an  original  edition  of  the  above  three  years  was  lately  sold  in 
New  York  for  $56.00. 

Peterson^  JRev.  Edward. 

History  of  Rhode  Island.  Illustrated.  Svo.  cloth,  pp.  370 
$1.50.  New  York,  1853 


IJHRARY. 


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